


The Weakest Color

by Seren_Maris



Category: Power Rangers, Power Rangers S.P.D.
Genre: Adventure, Angst, Betrayal, Drama, Friendship, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2006-03-27
Updated: 2006-03-27
Packaged: 2017-10-23 05:19:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 42
Words: 60,053
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/246686
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Seren_Maris/pseuds/Seren_Maris
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Bridge is forced to betray the Power Rangers in order to save humanity.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "The Weakest Color" was the first serious attempt at fanfiction I ever wrote and wow, does it show! Looking back on it, the first dozen chapters are the tentative steps of a new writer, but I got better. This story won 1st place for angst at the 2006 Hope For The World Fanfiction Awards and 2nd place for angst in the 2007 What a Character Awards.

_He was standing on what remained of the land surrounding SPD headquarters, the ground scorched and blackened. Smoke stained the skies red, and the wind echoed with distant sounds of battle, now fading into the distance. The ruins of SPD headquarters rose behind him, its smoking, broken form a testament to the brave, and ultimately futile last stand of Earth's defenders._

 _Around him were strewn the still forms of the Power Rangers; red and blue, pink and shadow, their bodies and morphers broken and shattered, the blank look of death now replacing the one of hatred that had seared across their faces only moments ago._

 _Only Z, the yellow ranger, remained. She knelt before him, already de-morphed in defeat. Mustering the last of her strength, she stared up at him defiantly, the fire in her eyes not extinguished by either tragedy, or betrayal. "Why?" She whispered. "Why have you done this?"_

 _'I'm sorry.' He wanted to say, but his voice failed him, even as he raised his weapon to deal her a killing blow._

 _He did not hesitate. There was too much at stake. "You have done well," whispered a sinister voice in his head. And Bridge screamed in anguish._

* * *

"Bridge? Bridge! It's only a dream!" Rough hands shook him, rousing him from his nightmare. "Wake up!"

"Sky?" Bridge asked blearily, blinking to hear the haze from his eyes. The full impact of his dream suddenly hit him, and Bridge bolted to his feet, looking around in panic.

Sky stifled an urge to reach out towards his frightened roommate, realizing that it might be unwise considering his team-mate's psychic powers. Bridge simply stared at him, like had had just seen a ghost.

'Maybe he did.' Sky considered, yawning slightly. Bridge's nightmares had steadily become more violent and frequent, and Sky had found it increasingly difficult to sleep through the night. 'I should speak to someone else about this,' he thought, reminding himself to have a word with Kat in the morning.

But for now, his friend needed him. Bridge looked every bit as exhausted as Sky felt, and he trembled slightly, his muscles tensed in a fighting posture. "Take it easy, Bridge." Sky repeated. "It was only a dream."

Bridge relaxed imperceptibly. "But... it seemed so real..." Sky waited for him to elaborate, but the Green Ranger said nothing more, a heavy silence falling between them.

"Do you want to tell me what it was about?" Sky prompted, not truly expecting an answer. Bridge, always a consummate talker, had been extremely close-lipped when it came to the content of his nightmares, and weeks later the blue ranger was no closer to finding an answer. "It might make you feel better..."

"No!" Bridge shouted, and then immediately felt guilty for his harsh reaction. Cringing slightly, he continued in a softer tone. "No. I... I have to leave." And with that he fled the room, grabbing a green sweatshirt on his way out.

Sky frowned, bemused, and settled back into his bed. Sleep, however, eluded him. "Why don't you trust me, Bridge?" He thought, hurt more than he cared to admit. "Why won't you tell me what's wrong?"

* * *

Bridge ran. He ran until he reached the rec room, where he turned on all the lights, as if to banish the terrors of his dreams. Throwing himself on the couch, he panted with exertion and distress. The ever-present whisper of foreign thoughts and feelings grew to a deafening cacophony, and then faded to the background as Bridge calmed himself, and reasserted a tenuous control. Sighing in relief, he glanced at the clock.

 _3:42 AM._

'2 more hours,' he thought, 'and I will have made it through another night.'

Rising to his feet, he walked to the attached kitchen, intent of making himself some toast. Toast always made him feel better. It was so crispy and ...buttery. Bridge unconsciously wriggled his fingers at the thought, grinning with pleasure, only to sober immediately at the thought of his dream. He could no more divine their source than he could tell his friends of their content. 'Maybe it's a premonition.'

'No,' he reasoned, arguing with himself. 'I would never betray my friends. It's just... stress, probably.'

'Or maybe I'm dreaming someone else's dreams, and that someone is dreaming of killing the Rangers. Someone like Gruumm. Or Mora.'

'I wonder if Gruumm dreams...' he idly wondered, taking a bite from his toast. Even evil galaxy conquering monsters must dream sometimes. It was a biological fact. Bridge shook his head, returning to his previous train of thought. "Someone else's dream," he rationalized aloud, unwilling to even consider the alternative. "That makes sense."

But try as he might, he could not shake the terrible sense of foreboding, or the fear that he would somehow be responsible for the downfall of the Power Rangers.

* * *


	2. Prologue

Mora had been thinking. She thought, and thought. Her innocent looks and childish mannerisms concealed a cunning mind, and when she was not playing house, or having tea parties with Cindy, she often considered ways to defeat the Power Rangers, thereby ending the siege of Earth.

In the months they had been in orbit around the planet, Mora had grown increasingly bored. Gruumm had conquered entire galaxies in less time, and she found it personally galling that such a miserable, insignificant, backwater planet could prove such a challenge to the most feared alien in the universe.

At first she thought it would be easy. All they had to do was send a few mercenaries, and those pathetic SPD goons would fall before them, leaving the planet undefended. Such a plan had worked before; there was no reason to believe that it would fail now.

But these Rangers were more competent than those of the other planets. Against insurmountable odds, they had managed to defeat the Troobians time and time again.

She had heard that they were special, possessing unique genetic powers. But those alone could not account for their victories – and Mora had become convinced that the Rangers possessed something else, some other power that accounted for their astonishing success.

And so Mora searched, secretly watching the Rangers through her private view-screen, observing their lives, their habits, and their interactions.

And now, all of her studies had finally paid off, leading her to only one conclusion.

* * *

"I know something you don't," Mora sang, skipping around Emperor Gruumm's skeletal throne.

Gruumm pointedly ignored her, lost in thought. Somewhere on the planet below, his arch-nemesis, Anubis Doggie Cruger, still lived, having escaped the destruction of Sirius. Cruger, who had continuously thwarted his every effort at galactic domination. Cruger, who trained the pesky Power Rangers. Cruger, who had taken his horn.

'I will have my revenge, Anubis. You will pay!' Gruumm clenched his fist in resolve, even as Mora completed another circuit around his throne, temporarily distracting him from his vengeful thoughts.

The arch-villain scowled, his eyes flashing with anger at the interruption. "I have little time for your games, Mora. Speak, or suffer the consequences!"

Mora paused and made a great show of pouting, an evil glint in her eyes. "I know that _your_ monsters will never defeat the Power Rangers."

Gruumm began to rise to his feet, fury at such insolence contorting his features.

Mora took an involuntary step backwards. "But," she amended quickly, "I know who can."

Broodwing laughed scornfully from the shadows of the room. "My lord," he interrupted, "this child knows nothing. With a little more time (and a lot more money, he amended silently), I will be able to gather an army of powerful monsters, the likes of which this galaxy has never seen."

Mora glared at the mercenary. She didn't trust him. Actually, being an evil mastermind, she didn't trust anyone, but she harbored a particular dislike for Broodwing. The promise of riches (and the threat of unbearable pain) had led the pictomancer to swear her loyalty to Gruumm, and thus her very future was dependent on his continued success.

Broodwing, on the other had, had no such attachments to the Troobian cause. Money was his sole interest, and Mora suspected that the treacherous alien was simply biding his time, engaged in a devious bid to snatch Earth from their grasp, and sell it to the highest bidder. Unfortunately, Gruumm did not share her opinion, and was completely confident of his ability to out-maneuver Broodwing. Mora was not so certain.

"Silence, Broodwing!" Gruumm growled. "You had many opportunities to eliminate the Power Rangers, and yet have failed me at every turn."

Mora stuck her tongue out victoriously at Broodwing, who hissed and retreated behind the throne, furious at such disrespect. Ignoring the irate mercenary, Gruumm turned his attention back to Mora. "You have a plan," he stated, leaning back into his throne. "Tell me."

Mora clapped her tiny hands in delight. "Say please."

"I am the emperor of the Troobians," Gruumm retorted angrily, his voice steadily rising in volume. "I do not ask for things. I get them!"

"Fine," she replied flippantly, rolling her eyes at such recalcitrance. "Then I guess you don't want to know."

Gruumm glared at her, his eyes glowing like coals. "Do not test my patience, child." Mora simply shrugged, and resumed her skipping, humming an inane tune under her breath. "Please." He grated, conceding defeat.

Mora smiled brightly. "Well," she said, "I have been studying the Power Rangers, and have learned the secret to their victories."

Gruumm leaned forwards appreciatively. Mora, encouraged by his interest, continued, carefully annunciating every word. Gruumm, despite his military prowess, was not the brightest crayon in the box, and she hated repeating herself.

"The Power Rangers share a mystical bond, which is channeled through their morphers. When all the colors work together, they amplify each other's powers, making the Rangers as a group more powerful than any monster you could send against them. Together, they are unstoppable."

Gruumm frowned, processing her statement. "And exactly how does this …information… help me?"

"Because, your hornness," Mora said, her voice heavy with exasperation, "This means that the only way the Power Rangers can be defeated is from within."

Gruumm's face twisted into an evil grin as realization slowly dawned upon him. "A traitor in SPD. I like this idea already."

"Not within SPD," She explained smugly, "A traitor among the Rangers themselves. Imagine, an evil Ranger, all your own. This will tear them apart!"

Broodwing shook his head, all three eyes narrowing in thought. "As much as I appreciate the irony of the Rangers being defeated by one of their own, this plan will not work. No Ranger will willingly betray their friends." He sneered in derision. "They are a disgustingly good and loyal bunch."

"Yes," hissed Mora, "and we will use that against them. Now, this is what we are going to do…" _  
_

* * *

With her sensitive feline hearing, Kat could hear the Power Rangers arguing from all the way down the hall. Decades of training cadets had given her much insight into the adolescent mind, but even after all these years, she could not understand why they fought over such trivial things.

Doggie cared little so long as it did not affect their efficiency, but the B-squad cadets had serious difficulties with team dynamics. The varieties of personalities and problem solving approaches they exhibited made them both an unstoppable crime fighting team, yet resulted in conflict when they were off duty.

Kat winced slightly as Syd's piercing tones rose to a deafening volume.

"Look, you took my boots, and I want them back!"

"What would I do with your ugly _pink_ boots, Syd? We don't even wear the same size!"

"I don't even pretend to know why _you_ do things. And my boots aren't ugly. They're designer!"

"Girls, girls, take it easy." Jack said, munching loudly on a strange-looking alien snack. He had discovered his love of the spicy lobster-shaped ...things ... during his time with SPD. His years on the street had made him frugal, but now, having been granted a moderate salary by his new position on the force, he occasionally chose to splurge on choice items. Such as crunchy, spicy red crackers. He often likened his love of them to Bridge's love of toast.

And speaking of Bridge, he'd been awfully quiet and distant recently... Jack covertly glanced at the green ranger. 'He looks tired...'

Jack frowned pensively, but instead of exploring that train of thought, he turned his attention to the quickly escalating argument of the two girls. Having ignored his previous suggestion, they had gone back to arguing amongst themselves, and it was getting on his nerves.

Jack shook his head to dispel an impending headache. He liked to think of himself as a tolerant man, but even he had limits. Why couldn't they just get along? What was it with this team? He had never had this problem when he was working with Z. "Look, this is not that big of a deal. Just...let it go."

Syd stamped her foot in irritation."But what about my boots? They're important to _me_!"

"And ...she called me a thief!"

"It wasn't me who was arrested for stealing clothes!"

"For the poor! And even a starving woman wouldn't want those boots!"

"How dare you, you ..." Syd paused, and thought up the worst insult she could muster. "...tomboy!"

"Enough!" Jack interrupted, determined to put a stop to this argument. "Syd, buy new boots. Z, back off." The two roommates immediately began to protest, and Jack held up his hand to forestall further argument. "No. Or do I have to make it an order?"

There was a brief silence, punctuated by the occasional spiteful murmur. The girls glared at each other for a moment longer, and then headed to opposite sides of the room. "Good," Jack said, resolutely turning back to his snacks.

Sky snorted contemptuously from the other couch, not even bothering to look up from his reading. The Blue Ranger had said nothing ever since he entered the rec room, preferring his data-pad to his teammates' company.

Jack momentarily wondered what was so engrossing, and then realized that it was probably the SPD handbook. Again. 'He thinks he's so much better than everyone else.' Jack thought uncharitably.

Sky had been needling him since ...well, ever since he joined SPD. Recently, however, Sky's moods had been particularly dark, and Jack had borne the brunt of it. He had always been a firm believer in carefully choosing his battles, but he'd had just about enough of Sky's attitude. "You have something to say?" He demanded pointedly.

"Why don't you just mind your own business, Jack?" The blue ranger replied testily, putting down the data-pad.

"Anything that effects _my_ team is my business!"

" _Your_ team?"

"Yes," Jack snapped, "Last time I checked, I was the red ranger, not you."

Sky bit back a scathing and wholly inappropriate comment, and choose instead to leave the room, his movements stiff with anger.

"Nice one," Z added after a moment of silence, startled by Jack's vehemence.

Syd nodded in agreement, and then looked shocked to actually be agreeing with Z on _anything_. "Yeah, I mean, I know that Sky can be like totally annoying, but that wasn't really necessary, was it?"

Jack put his head in his hands, the ringing noise in his head having returned with a vengeance. If only a robot would attack, and distract him. These off-hours were killing him. A few more breaks like this, and he would seriously have to consider resigning from SPD. It's not like he wanted to be here anyhow – after all, he was only doing it for Z.

Of course, if he quit, Cruger would probably toss him in jail. However, those white-washed containment cells were looking more attractive every day. They was quiet, empty and totally private. And far, far away from irritating second-in-commands who continuously challenged his authority.

No, it was more than that. Jack was no friend of authority himself, but Sky disputed his very competence to lead this team; a very personal and directed challenge.

Jack used to have doubts about this very thing, but their team's success over the past few weeks had changed his opinion. He had proved to himself, and just about everyone else, that he was capable of leading a team of power rangers. But nothing that he could say or do seemed to change Sky's perceptions, to overcome both their bad first impressions and Sky's lingering disappointment at being, in his eyes, under-promoted.

Jack knew it would be difficult to lead a team of strangers, especially since three of those strangers had trained, lived and worked together since long before he ever encountered them. But, with time, the other two SPD-trained cadets seemed to have adapted to his leadership, or at the very least had learned to tolerate him.

And he liked to think that he had gotten to know them; befriended them, even. This was important; in order to effectively lead, he needed to know their strengths and their weaknesses, and how to communicate well with each of them.

Jack went through a quick mental evaluation of his teammates.

Syd – well, she was a little egotistical, but very sociable, a great fighter, and ever-fashionable. He liked her. How could someone _not_ like Syd? She was so positive and optimistic.

Jack didn't really understand Bridge. He didn't understand his powers, or the way he thought. Bridge was weird, which was saying something coming from a man who could phase through solid objects. What Jack did know was that his insights, however strange they seemed, were often very valuable, and he had heard that no one was better with machinery and the megazords than the green ranger.

Sky, on the other hand... Jack made a conscious effort to review Sky's good points. He was extremely loyal, both to SPD and those he considered friends. He was a decent strategist and could shoot very accurately. He was also a true believer in justice, and would never intentionally do anything to endanger the well-being of SPD or Earth.

He was, however, a stickler for the rules, and was not what Jack would call a people person. He took himself too seriously, was antisocial and often cold, and thought very highly of his own skills. Which, as far as Jack could tell, was exactly the problem.

At first he thought that Sky didn't like him because he was an outsider. However, he seemed to get along with Z, and Jack had eventually realized that Sky resented the fact that Cruger hadn't chosen to make him red ranger, and truly believed Jack to be unworthy of the position. Unfortunately, this opinion manifested itself so frequently in their interactions that Jack was beginning to think that the cost of dealing with Sky outweighed the benefits of having him on the team.

This current argument was only the latest in a sequence of clashes, and Jack worried that it would culminate with a falling-out that would permanently divide his team. He was willing to put aside his personal feelings concerning Sky, because the Earth needed them, all of them, to work together as a team.

He had tried to explain this concept to the blue ranger, but it ended in another argument. Interacting with Sky was like fighting with a wall. He just couldn't get through. 'How fitting that his powers do that very thing.' Jack thought, uncharacteristically bitter. 'What am I supposed to do? He's driving me insane!'

"You could just apologize to him, you know." Bridge added softly from the corner. "If you did, he might give you a chance."

Jack blinked in astonishment, feeling quite a bit surprised and a more than a little unsettled. Bridge was normally weird, but _that_ was just creepy.

The red ranger shot a glance at the girls to see if they had noticed anything, but they seemed not to be listening. Z was listening to music on a very high volume, presumably to drown out the sound of Syd's music video, currently playing on TV. Syd was completely occupied with examining her television persona in minute detail, occasionally making dissatisfied noises. Either way, he was on his own.

Did Bridge just read his mind? Or did he say that out loud?

Jack hoped it was the latter, because he had heard nothing about Bridge being a telepath. He hoped he wasn't. While he trusted Bridge with his life on a daily basis, his thoughts were a completely different matter.

Maybe he was just being paranoid. Or maybe it _was_ some form of telepathy, and he had just been thinking very loudly. Or maybe Bridge had derived that information using empathy alone.

Jack didn't know Bridge well enough to say, but for the first time he realized that there might be more to the green ranger than anyone had ever suspected.


	3. The Calm Before The Storm

So far, it had been a difficult day at SPD. Despite the fact that there had been no giant robot attacks, a rarity on its own, Kat had been exceedingly busy, due to several long-overdue departmental reviews and a series of relatively minor (but most infuriating) mechanical glitches which had plagued the headquarters since early that morning.

The machines were easy enough; she simply set the main computer to run a complete diagnostic, which it had been doing for (Kat checked her watch) nearly six hours.

The departmental reviews, however, were a completely different matter. As unpleasant as they were, Kat understood the necessity. To her, it was a yearly reminder of exactly how many different people and talents went into making SPD function properly – and for them, it provided incentive to improve their work.

However, a day of dealing with disorderly labs and their denizens, who ranged from scatterbrained geologists to one particularly ill-tempered exo-botanist, had left her both exhausted and exceedingly thankful that she hadn't been assigned to one of the other departments, all those years ago.

So it was with palpable relief that she entered the doors to her own lab, only to be met with a particularly horrific sight.

* * *

"What is **that**?" Kat demanded, struggling to not pull her ears back and hiss, "And what have you done to my **lab**?"

The room in question was a veritable hive of activity, all centering around a single table, at which stood Bridge and Boom, both hovering over a bizarre-looking contraption. At a safe distance stood Kat's lab assistants, looking every bit as distressed as their boss.

"Well, it used to be a subterranean field shuffler," Bridge replied cheerfully, completely nonplussed by the mess he was making, or the stricken look on Kat's face, "but now it's more like a gravel-transporting cell fossilizer."

"Actually," Boom added, his arms elbow-deep inside the machine, "It fossilizes more than cells, but it doesn't seem to work on anything more complex than a clam."

"That's probably a good thing." She observed wryly, cautiously approaching the two inventors.

Previous experience with Bridge and Boom's projects had taught her not to get too close, especially during the development stages. Although SPD had benefited greatly from some such inventions, there were also entire rooms in the basement devoted to the storage of those machines which were deemed too dangerous, either to others or the user, to be of use.

And, needless to say, Kat had never forgotten that unfortunate incident with the transformation ray. Fittingly enough, it had turned her into a house-cat, complete with fur, claws and calico markings. Despite the fact that she was unable to communicate and trapped in said form, the experience would almost have been bearable – except for RIC's canine programming. Cruger still hadn't repaired the claw marks on the curtains of his private quarters.

Under the commander's watchful gaze, Bridge had soon figured out how to restore her, and Kat had been forced to endure Cruger's jokes about kitty-litter ever since.

"Done!" Boom announced, replacing the lid on the contraption, and powering it up at the touch of a button. "Look!"

Pulling a clam out of a nearby container, Bridge placed it directly in front of the machine, within a circular blast mark presumably caused by a previous demonstration. Kat momentarily wondered where he had gotten the clams (surely not from the dining hall?), and then returned her attention to Bridge's deft manipulation of the controls.

The Green Ranger pressed a complex series of buttons, and then, a blinding flash of light and a slight burning smell later, a fossilized mollusk lay in the place of what had once been a living clam.

Kat approached the table, curious. It really was a unique effect, unlike anything she had ever seen. Maybe it could be modified and used as a weapon, a way to contain dangerous criminals during transport. She took another step forward, only to stumble over a small pile of rocks on the floor.

"The gravel-transporting thing is a side-effect." Bridge said, gesturing dismissively at the pile in the way of explanation. "It seems to have some kind of affinity for the molecular structure of stone."

"It's... interesting." She admitted, picked her way across the disaster zone that was once her laboratory floor.

"Interesting? It's fascinating! And," Bridge gestured triumphantly, "It can be operated with only two fingers!"

Kat glanced at the control panel, and shot Bridge a skeptical look.

"It's not too strange to think that someone who wants to use this might have only two fingers," Bridge argued defensively, wholly misinterpreting her look. "I mean, evolutionarily, it's not like we even use all five, just two would be enough. Except if we played the piano, in which case we'd just have to have less keys. Or we could play with our feet."

Kat smiled, amused, even as she made a mental note to call a cleanup crew. "I'll just leave you to it, then."

The two inventors made dismissive noises, already having turned their attention back to the fossilizer. Leaving them to their experiments, Kat walked out of the lab, only to be run down by a visibly agitated Sky.

* * *

For the second time that day, Kat was saved by her quick reflexes. Sky, however, was not so fortunate, and was sent sprawling on the floor. Mustering the tattered remnants of his dignity, he got to his feet, offering an apology to the agile scientist.

"Kat," Sky said, suddenly remembering his previous resolution. "Can I have a word with you?" He looked at the laboratory door. "Privately?"

Kat nodded, her curiosity piqued by Sky's behavior. It wasn't like him to be so distracted ...or so secretive. Knowing that something strange was happening, she followed him into a nearby room, closing the door behind them.

* * *

It was late afternoon, and the passageways of SPD were filled with cadets. They chatted and jostled each other, enjoying their break from training. As he passed he was greeted with salutes, and the occasional 'sir.' Despite the fact that he had been on B-squad for nearly a year, Bridge still felt uncomfortable with the terms of respect the other cadets afforded him. Even though he was a senior cadet, he was younger than most, and since SPD drew people from all over the galaxy, Bridge often felt positively dwarfed by both the age and experience of his fellow cadets. The fact that they looked up to him as a role model, a stellar example, simply added to the pressure.

However, almost four years at SPD had taught him a few tricks, and he knew all the secret ways and shortcuts to get wherever he wished within SPD. Usually outgoing, today Bridge put that knowledge to use avoiding starry-eyed cadets and cynical techs, choosing instead to take the back corridors on his way to the megazord bay. Sky pejoratively termed such behavior "skulking", and knew Bridge's ways so well that he could probably find his roommate anywhere on base.

The chatter of the other cadets faded behind him as he turned down a narrow side hallway, the thin seam along the floor marking it as one of the passageways which allowed the base to transform into the delta command megazord. There were hundreds of such hallways within SPD, unused except on those rarest of occasions when the headquarters folded in on itself like a giant piece of origami. At all other times, they were empty except for the occasional cadet, and the tiny robots devoted to cleaning the floors.

And that was when it happened again.

He felt the telltale buzz that usually accompanied the use of his powers, only this time it was a thousand times worse. A searing, blinding pain lanced through his skull, and Bridge clutched his head and staggered, instinctively steadying himself against the wall.

Yet even as he touched the white-washed surface, his entire sight was illuminated by a dazzling array of colors, and Bridge realized that he had made a critical mistake. In his current state, gloves would offer meager protection, and Bridge felt his powers spiral out of his control, his perceptions expanding until they encompassed all of SPD – and beyond.

He sensed the people surrounding him, sensed their thoughts, feelings, and innermost impressions. They moved around him in an indistinct blur, masses of swirling auras. Time held no meaning – he saw what was, and what would be. Closing his eyes, he struggled to block out the invading flood of sensations, battling to retain a small fragment of self distinct from the crush of a thousand minds.

A presence approached him, and spoke in a tantalizingly familiar voice. "Bridge?"

'Yes,' he realized. 'That's me. Bridge. I'm Bridge.'

Using that thought as an anchor, he managed to banish the 'others' from his mind, systematically limiting his psychic perceptions until the voices and images faded into the background. Having regained a tenuous control, Bridge opened his eyes, only to discover Z standing before him, a concerned look on her face. "Bridge? Are you alright?"

"I'm fine." He managed, hoping his voice didn't tremble too much.

"That wasn't fine. You almost fainted!"

"I'm okay." He reiterated, grasping for a plausible excuse. "I just felt a little dizzy. It's probably just hunger – I was working with Boom and forgot to eat..."

Z frowned, not believing him for an instant, but knowing that pressing him on the topic would be useless. Taking Bridge by the arm, she steered him towards the main hallway. "You're coming to lunch with me, and I won't take no for an answer."

'That way I can keep an eye on you.' She added silently.

"I can't," Bridge insisted. "I told Boom..."

Z rolled her eyes. "Boom can come with us."

"Come on, Bridge." She cajoled, noticing his reluctance. "Your gadgets can wait!"

Bridge sighed, relenting. There was no resisting Z once she had her mind set on something. "Alright. Let's go."

* * *

Speaking with Kat had seemed like a good idea, but now that the moment had come Sky found himself plagued with doubts. He paced nervously, attempting to gathering his thoughts.

"Yes, Sky?" Kat prompted politely, crossing her arms.

Sky paused, and turned to face her. He didn't like interfering with his roommate's private affairs, but if Bridge wasn't going to help himself, Sky would. It was his duty as a friend. "It's about Bridge. He's been acting strange recently, and hasn't been sleeping well."

"You've known him longer than any of us," he stated reluctantly, knowing that it was a touchy topic. "He won't accept **my** help, but maybe from you..."

Kat tilted her head thoughtfully. "I hadn't noticed anything, but..."

Cruger's voice suddenly rang over the intercom, interrupting what she was about to say. "Rangers, report to the command center!"

Kat gave the Blue Ranger a reassuring look, and told him the short version instead. "Don't worry, Sky. I'll look into it."

* * *


	4. Divide and Conquer, Part 1

"What's going on?" Jack inquired, striding into the Delta Command center with three other rangers trailing close behind him. He was a little disconcerted to note that Sky was already there, a smug half-smile firmly in place. Choosing to temporarily ignore his second-in-command, Jack lined up with his teammates, and waited to be briefed.

"Gruumm is attacking two different targets within the city." Kat announced. She pressed a button, and the view screen divided itself, showing two forces of krybots, one group led by a strange alien, the other by a familiar bat-like criminal.

"Broodwing!"

"The force on the left are attacking a factory owned by Polaris Optics, a company that produces micro-thin glass." Kat magnified the image, concentrating on the krybots' leader. By human standards, this monster was uncommonly large, and was covered from head to toe in armor made of a strange, almost reflective substance. "We know nothing about this alien. However, he should be considered to be very dangerous, especially since he appears to be working for Gruumm."

"Broodwing's group is attacking the warehouse district." She quickly typed instructions into the console, but even as an image appeared on the screen, the picture flickered and faded, interrupted by static. The Rangers caught a glimpse of krybots, metal walls, and much activity before the screen went completely blank.

"Satellite imagery is malfunctioning." The scientist stated tersely, moving to another station. After several vain attempts to re-align the machine, she shot Doggie an apologetic glance, and returned her attention to the Rangers. "I'm not sure what they're doing, but they must be stopped."

"Rangers," Cruger ordered, "this calls for a defense on two fronts. Jack and Bridge, you will go to the factory. Syd, Z and Sky – the warehouse district."

"Sir," Sky interrupted, "I would prefer to go with Bridge."

The other Rangers shot him incredulous looks, and Jack turned to argue with him.

"No, Cadet Schuyler." Cruger intervened, forestalling a potential conflict. "Your skills will be more valuable protecting the warehouses. Syd and Z will need your help."

Sky opened his mouth to protest, only to close it at Kat's warning glance. 'I'm going to have to trust her on this one.' He realized, choosing instead to nod in acquiescence. "Yes, Sir!"

Cruger growled under his breath. What was he missing here? Why did they all seem to know something he didn't? "Move out, Rangers!"

"Be careful." Kat added from the corner, even as she pried open another control panel. "It may be a diversion, or a trap."

"No problem." Jack stated confidently. "It's nothing we can't handle."

The B-squad saluted in unison.

"We may not know what they're after, but if Gruumm's involved it can't be good! SPD Emergency!"

* * *

The warehouse district was located next to the docks, by the ruins of a high-speed train system that had once serviced Newtech City in the distant past.

Many powerful corporations stored their goods here, along with the occasional wealthy private investor. The warehouses were often run by unscrupulous companies, who asked little about the contents or their clients. Therefore, it tended to attract the seedier side of life, the thieves and kidnappers, who knew that the chances of the police finding **anything** among the hundreds of identical buildings was like finding the proverbial needle in a haystack.

SPD was well aware of what went on within the district. Lacking the forces to effectively patrol the area, the best they could do was send the occasional c-squad team, supplemented in times of danger or a substantial threat by any available power rangers.

Thus, Syd and Sky had been there several times, all on SPD business. Z, too, was familiar with the area, but for entirely different reasons.

However, upon their arrival, there seemed to be nothing out of the ordinary – just the distant sound of cars and the acrid scent of the polluted waters of the river.

Sky frowned. Usually they were immediately attacked by some monster – or at least a force of krybots. If they had to actually search the area, he realized, they were going to be faced with a daunting task indeed.

"Syd, Z, we should split up and search the area. Keep in touch with your communicators, and call at the first sign of trouble."

"Right!"

* * *

A metallic scraping noise was the first sign of impending danger. Z, however, was not too concerned. After all, there could still be legitimate business and transport occurring in these warehouses, especially at this time of day. But it never hurt to check.

Z tapped her communicator. "I may have found something. I'm going to investigate."

Quietly sneaking towards the sound, she slid along the wall, only to get a glimpse of what seemed to be the majority of the krybot force lifting and transporting several black boxes from one of the warehouses. While there were several foot-soldiers doing the lifting work, they were guarded by three orange-heads. Broodwing was no-where in sight. The bat always seemed to know when SPD was coming, and managed to make himself scarce during those times.

Z weighed her options, and immediately decided that, even if she replicated herself, she had no chance of defeating such a large group.

'Time for a tactical retreat,' she thought, raising her gun and backing up into one of the passageways.

Which, of course, was the moment they saw her.

Maybe they were alerted by the afternoon sun glinting off her weapon, or maybe they heard the low shuffle of her feet as she backed away. Either way, the yellow ranger was immediately subjected to a substantial amount of laser fire, as all the krybots formerly engaged in guarding the stolen goods were now intent on destroying her.

Replicating herself several times, she dividing their attention between the several identical yellow rangers, and ducked into a back alleyway.

Z looked around speculatively, looking for some means of escape. There were no doors, or possible hand-holds, just metal walls surrounding her. 'Just my luck.' She thought. 'I've picked a dead end.'

She peeked around the corner, trying to see how her replicants were faring. There was only one left, the others having been defeated by the krybots. The copy fought desperately, completely surrounding. Jumping on top of one of the stolen crates, it launched itself towards the roof, intending to make its escape. The replicant never made it. The orange-head's lightning blast hit it square in the back, and it slumped to the ground before dissolving.

The krybots, seemingly cognizant that this one was also a copy, paused for a moment, and then began to divide into search parties.

"Guys!" Z murmured into her communicator, "I could use a little help here!" The reply immediately crackled from her communicator.

"I'm busy," Syd panted, the sound of battle filtering in from the background.

"I'm on my way, Z." Sky replied, calmly as ever. "Hang in there, Syd."

"Hurry!" Z hissed. Because judging by the footsteps of the approaching krybots, Gruumm's forces were advancing, and would soon be upon her.

* * *

'Busy,' Syd said under her breath, 'is an understatement.'

A soon as Z had called for help, Syd had found herself ambushed by a couple dozen krybots. They circled her, predatorily searching for some weakness. As always, they said nothing. She assumed that they were not programmed to speak, only to fight.

That was fine. Syd wasn't one for chatting with her enemies much, either. She just wanted to go home and have a bubble bath.

"Let's finish this quickly," she said, as much to herself as to them.

'I hope Z's alright.' Syd added charitably, sparing a moment of thought for her teammate/rival. Z annoyed her immensely, but one some level Syd actually liked the ex-thief. And even at her worst, Syd would never wish Z harm. She just wasn't that kind of girl.

Swinging around the metal railing, she threw a punch at one krybot, simultaneously causing another to fly backwards with a devastating kick. It hit the wall, and slid to the ground incapacitated, twitching uncontrollably as its circuitry short-circuited.

One down, she thought. Twenty to go.

Syd gracefully dodged a laser beam, and flipped over the krybots' heads. They reacted slowly, allowing her to destroy several more before being forced to duck away from their blows.

And then, something strange happened.

The krybots, programmed to never surrender, started to retreat. They simultaneously turned and fled, as if privy to some hidden signal. Syd tensed, expecting some kind of trap. But nothing happened.

She frowned, and tapped her communicator, running to catch up the the fast-disappearing krybots. "Sky, Z? Come in. Something weird is going on."

* * *

Now cornered, Z was forced to use all of her formidable skills to prevent herself from being overwhelmed by the flood of krybots.

Using walls to her advantage, she dodged one strike by leaping up and balancing between the narrow walls of the passageway. Unable to stop its forward momentum, the krybot went flying beneath her legs, and she heard a hollow thunk as it hit the back wall.

Apparently catching on to her trick, the next krybot aimed a flying kick at her midsection. Jumping down from her perch, she ducked under the krybot and drew her sword, dispatching several attackers in a series of fast strikes.

Ignoring their fallen comrade, the rest of the krybot army continued the attack, fighting with a mindless, mechanical intensity. And yet even as Z began to tire, Sky and Syd both appeared, approaching her from different directions.

Temporarily confused by the presence of the newcomers, the krybots milled around for a moment before returning to the boxes and taking a defensive formation.

"Nice to see you guys!" Z said, more relieved than she cared to admit.

"So this is where they all went." Syd commented, looking at the now even larger group of krybots in front of them. The ones she had been fighting had joined up with the ones that had been guarding the boxes, forming a single cohesive force.

The three rangers lined up in fighting positions.

"Stop right there. SPD!"

They had just defeated the last of the krybots when they spotted Broodwing, perched above them on the roof of one of the warehouses. The rangers turned to face him as a group, made both confident and reckless by their earlier victory.

"You're going down!"

"It's all over for you!"

Broodwing laughed. "No, Rangers. This is only the beginning!" And with that he leaped into the air, and, before the rangers could detain him, disappeared into the distance.

Sky sighed. Were they never going to catch that guy? The bat was a slippery character, and Sky would like nothing more than to see him trapped inside a government-issued containment card.

'Another day,' He though, turning his attention back to the new abandoned stack of boxes. At least that had prevented the forces of evil from getting ...whatever was in these things.

"Now, let's see what's in these babies." Z said, echoing Sky's thoughts. She knelt beside the box, and after a moment of fiddling with the lock managed to get it open, only to gasp in shock. "I knew this was too easy!"

Syd turned to face her. "What? What is it?"

"It's empty!"

* * *


	5. Divide and Conquer, Part 2

_The scientists screamed and fled in all directions as the monster tore through the barricade. Ignoring them, he used his claws to rip through yet another door, and stalked onwards. He cared nothing for their fates, or whether they lived or died._

 _Snatching a fleeing human as she passed, he looked into her tearful eyes, her pleas falling on deaf ears. She struggled and cried, unable to escape his powerful grasp. He spared her a single glance, and cast her aside. She didn't have what he was searching for._

* * *

The Polaris Optics factory was a massive, metallic structure at the very edge of Newtech city. The sprawling complex produced the glass lenses that were essential components of so many modern machines, and was usually a bustling hive of workers, scientists and supervisors, all devoted to producing the innovative products that had made Polaris an leading inter-galactic corporation.

Today, however, the buildings were echoingly empty, the employees no where in sight. Jack hoped that they were alright, and had either escaped, or hidden themselves away in the recesses of the compound. A clean-up team would be sent later to search for survivors. His job was simply to secure the area; however, SPD was rarely so late in responding to an attack.

They had arrived hoping to catch the aliens outside, before they had a chance to enter the complex. However, as Jack surveyed the entrance, the only signs of an attack were the broken glass scattered across the ground, and the loud blaring of an alarm. These criminals were faster and more efficient than usual, and he and Bridge would have to work quickly to catch up to them.

That wasn't a problem. After all, they were Power Rangers. Stepping through the broken panes of the door, Jack cautiously entered the front lobby, Bridge trailing behind him. Once inside, the Green Ranger removed his glove and made a sweeping motion with his hand.

The auras of the krybots materialized immediately, but that of their leader proved to be more elusive. Bridge just couldn't seem to get a lock on him; his aura kept appearing and disappearing, fading in and out of existence. 'Two personalities?' Bridge hypothesized. 'One evil and one good? Or maybe he cans teleport.'

Gruumm seemed to be able to teleport his minions between the Earth and his spaceship, but Bridge had never heard of a machine which would allow someone to teleport themselves over short distances. The process simply required too much mechanical assistance to be feasible. 'It could be a genetic power. Or maybe...'

Bridge suddenly remembered that Jack was impatiently waiting for him to say something, an exasperated look on his face. The red ranger obviously wanted to finish this as soon as possible. Bridge shrugged. He would oblige him, and ponder the details some other time.

"They went that way," he said, pointing down a dark hallway. Jack nodded, activating his flashlight, and together they ran down the passageway, keeping a lookout for any sign of Gruumm's soldiers.

* * *

Reaching out with his senses, Bridge finally found the monster, somewhere in the lower levels of the complex. He brushed against its mind, hoping for some piece of information that would aid the Rangers in the upcoming battle. And, for a single precarious moment, he found himself looking through another's eyes.

 _A clawed hand lifted the precious lens out of its case, acting with surprising gentleness. The monster lifted it up to light and examined it, allowing the sunlight from the skylights to glint through the lens, diffracting a rainbow pattern onto the walls around him._

 _Locks were no obstacle to one such as him. He had been created for a single purpose, to steal a tiny, fragile piece of equipment which was valued by his mistress more than a thousand lives._

Bridge tried to remain longer, to seek more answers, but the criminal's thoughts and perceptions were like quicksilver, and he could no longer maintain the contact. Abruptly coming back to himself, he had to run to catch up to Jack, having fallen behind during his mental sojourn.

"Wait!" Bridge said, "This way!"

Jack changed direction without question and they hurried down the narrow stairwell.

* * *

Finally arriving at the storage room, Jack and Bridge burst through the door, only to find the monster waiting for them, holding their prize in-between his sharp claws. "Is this what you want, Rangers?"

Jack took a cautious step forwards. "Just put the lens down, and we won't have to hurt you."

The criminal laughed cruelly. "I am Invisor, and it is you who should be worried about getting hurt!" He threw a metallic sphere into the air, and the area between him and the rangers was immediately filled with krybots.

Jack rolled his eyes. These aliens never seemed to learn.

Dispatching the first wave of krybots with a quick volley of laser fire, the two rangers engaged the rest hand-to-hand. Working together, they managed to defeat the krybots in record time, and turned to face the would-be thief.

* * *

Now alone, Invisor growled and lunged at the two rangers. Dodging out of the way, Jack and Bridge rolled into defensive positions, holding their guns as shields. Quickly taking aim, they fired their guns but even as the blasts approached their target, the monster disappeared.

"Okay," Jack said, looking around warily. "Where'd he go..."

"I can't sense him!" Bridge replied, a note of fear in his voice. "No, wait! Jack, behind you!" The red ranger spun around, but not fast enough. The monster silently materialized just within striking distance and attacked, sending Jack flying into the air.

Jumping in front of his fallen teammate, Bridge sent several shots at Invisor, in the vain hope that one would actually hit. His opponent simply laughed, and disappeared once more.

Bridge stood with his gun ready, a look of intense concentration on his face. Using his empathic powers, he reached out with his senses, searching for even the slightest trace of evil. "Got you!" he said, shooting the exact instant the monster reappeared. Sparks flew off Invisor's damaged armor, and the thief staggered backwards, clutching his shoulder.

"You will pay for that, ranger!" He hissed, crossing his arms in front of its body. There was a horrific series of snapping noises, and the alien screamed in pain as his body morphed into a new form, a shape even more terrifying than the last. "Wow!" Bridge said, eying the bony spikes now covering his opponent's body. "And I thought you were ugly before!"

The thief growled something incomprehensible in reply, and lunged at Bridge. The green ranger brought his sword up into a defensive position, only to be swatted aside like an insect. Flying into the wall, he collided with the shelves and lay on the ground, momentarily stunned.

"Bridge!" Jack shouted in warning, and Bridge instinctively rolled to the side, even as the shelves fell in a rain of glass and equipment. Bridge glanced at the place where he had just lay, which was now smoking and covered with some kind of corrosive green chemical.

The monster laughed manically. "This is the end, Power Rangers!"

"I don't think so!" Jack replied boldly, moving to challenge the monster. He spared a concerned glance for his teammate. "Are you alright?"

"I think so." Bridge replied, getting to his feet and limping across the room to stand next to the Red Ranger. Jack nodded. "Then let's get this guy!"

* * *

The Rangers attacked with their swords, mirroring each others' movements. For a moment, they seemed to be gaining the upper hand, as Invisor was forced to retreat, defending against their strikes with his claws.

Ducking away at the last second, the criminal moved so quickly that the rangers momentarily overbalanced, propelled by the momentum of their attack. They spun to face Invisor, but he had already disappeared.

Jack sighed inwardly. 'If only we had a way to see him!' Examining his surroundings , his eyes lit on the fallen shelves and the chemicals spilled across the floor. 'That's it!' He realized, in a sudden flash of insight. "Bridge! Keep him busy for a moment. I have a plan!"

"Right!" Bridge said, and waited for Invisor to reappear. Sensing the thief was easier this time, so he was ready when it reappeared beside them. The green ranger attacked with his sword, hoping to engage the monster in close combat, and thus distract him from Jack.

* * *

Knowing that he had little time, the red ranger sprinted towards one of the walls, and grabbed a jar of green sludge. 'Let's see him become invisible with this on his armor.'

-  
Out of the corner of his eye, Bridge saw Jack grab the jar, and immediately realized his teammate's intent. 'I've got to keep Invisor from disappearing!' He thought, renewing his attack with the sword. Blocking the strike with an armored arm, the monster grabbed the blade and twisted, forcing Bridge to drop the weapon. Bridge backed up a step.

'I can't use my gun at this range.' He thought quickly. 'But Jack needs more time!' Seeing no other choice, he attacked the monster hand to hand, but the instant his hand impacted the creatures armor, Bridge was stricken with a new, terrifyingly vivid vision.

* * *


	6. A Secret and a Lie

_He saw his opponent come into existence, in a flash of color and coalescing lines._

" _Okay." Said the girl, looking up from the sketchbook to examine her creation. "Not quite the one I want, but you'll do for now."_

 _She turned to the view-screen, where images of a certain group of humans flickered by. The pictures seemed to center around one in particular, a young man with ruffled dark hair and gloved hands. Caught up in the monster's perspective, it took Bridge a moment to realize that he was looking at himself._

" _Yes," she said, in response to his gaze. "I have great plans for this one."_

' _Great plans?' Bridge thought, shocked. 'What does she mean?' But before he could see any more he was whisked away, and then there was only swirling darkness and whispered voices._

 _Just as suddenly, he was back in his own body, but now he was standing before Gruumm and Broodwing. And the bat was speaking to him, but he couldn't understand the words. Then they were leading him inside a pillar-like machine, in which a bright green light fluctuated and glowed. And Bridge cried out in agony as the light cut through him, changing him…_

* * *

A muffled sound drew Invisor's attention away from the incapacitated green ranger.

At the very periphery of his vision, the red ranger was fumbling with some kind of glass container, obviously intended as some sort of weapon. Distracted, Jack seemed to not have noticed his teammate's predicament – or Invisor's gaze.

'Primitive but effective.' Invisor concluded, realizing the rangers' plan. 'But it will not be enough.' Sensing an opportunity, the monster snatched Bridge's gun from its holster - the very instant that Jack threw the jar of chemicals. Shoving the green ranger away from him, Invisor took aim and fired, disabling Jack in a single shot.

* * *

Unprepared for the attack, the red ranger was thrown backwards, the projectile shattering on the ground. His last thought before losing consciousness was, strangely enough, about Sky. 'I hope they don't promote him.' Jack thought bleakly. 'Red is definitely not his color.'

* * *

When he opened his eyes, the world around him was blurred, as if passing at great speed. Disoriented, Bridge didn't realize that he was flying through the air until he struck the ground. Demorphing almost immediately, he lay on the floor, unable to muster enough strength to get up, or even defend himself.

The pain of his vision-self lanced through his body in agonizing waves. 'How can something not real hurt so much?' He thought, struggling to regain control of his body and senses. 'I have to get up. I have to help Jack!' But his muscles wouldn't obey him, and Bridge could only watch, horrified, knowing that they were completely at the monster's mercy.

Training had prepared him for the contingency of his own death, or the death of one of his teammates. He had a dangerous job, in which they fought deadly criminals on a daily basis. He knew that there were casualties – but it had always happened to someone else, some other team.

Somehow, their deaths had always seemed distant and far removed, and in his three years at SPD, Bridge had never truly considered the possibility that it might happen to him. Suddenly faced with the very real prospect of dying, Bridge discovered that he was terrified – for Jack's sake, and his own. 'No!' He thought, panicked, 'This can't be the end!'

But then something strange happened. Instead of dealing the killing blow, Invisor took a step backwards, and looked straight at Bridge with its reptilian eyes. "Until next time, Ranger!" he declared, and then teleported away. "Wait!" Bridge cried out, finally regaining his voice. 'I need answers!' But it was too late, and the two rangers were left alone in the abandoned building.

* * *

Cruger knew a secret.

It was the first, and most important lesson every cadet was taught. It was so obvious, it was easy to forget.

It was the secret to his success, the tiny bit of knowledge that allowed him to succeed where so many others had failed.

But Cruger had learned his lessons. They were hard, and painful, but he valued them, and they had saved his life many times over. There were mistakes, yes, but even should he have the opportunity, he wouldn't have done anything differently.

One such hard lesson was that his best wasn't good enough, that the lone wolf was exactly that - alone. He liked to think it was such a realization that had led to the foundation of SPD, by some other dog, all those years ago.

From humble beginnings, SPD had grown to span the universe, protecting countless planets and beings under its jurisdiction. Earth was only the newest, and thus the most vulnerable of these worlds.

Some thought that it shamed Doggie to be here, to be sent to a planet so far removed from the center of ...well, everything. Nothing could be further from the truth. He was honored to have a second chance to protect a world he cared about, and this time, he promised, this time he would succeed.

And thus he devoted his time to bettering SPD Earth, recruiting the finest people the planet had to offer, obtaining the latest technologies. Some whispered that he didn't do much, that he was simply a figurehead, some sort of glorified mascot. Doggie had long since learned to ignore such lies, because he knew that he had the most important job of all; he watched over the command center, and the Power Rangers.

 _And even as the command center was the heart of SPD, the heart of the command center was the Rangers._

 _  
_

* * *

But now, those same cadets were standing before him, looking angry, dejected, and apprehensive by turns. "Report!" Cruger barked.

"The krybots at the warehouses were a diversion, sir!"

"Commander," Jack stepped forward, his hands clasped behind his back. A short stint in the infirmary had greatly improved both his and Bridge's health. They would undoubtedly be sore in the morning, but Jack had been surprised to note (and incredibly thankful) that they had escaped with only minor injuries. "We failed to apprehend the monster at the factory. He got away." The red ranger decided to dispense with the pleasantries. "We got our butts kicked. Sir."

"It was my fault, sir." Bridge interceded. "When I touched him, something strange happened. I ...I can't explain it, but I felt really weird and just ...froze." Bridge held his breath, hoping that Cruger wouldn't question him further. Bridge was a terrible liar, and had therefore settled for a half-truth when questioned. It had been hard enough trying to convince Jack of his sequence of events, but Cruger seemed to have a second sense that told him when one of his cadets was lying. 'Maybe he can smell it.' Bridge considered, studying the commander's face. Cruger frowned pensively, but much to his relief, said nothing.

"They appear to have stolen an experimental super-lens," Kat began, turning away from her keyboard. "Wait," Z interrupted, recalling a snippet of an elementary school science lesson. "Aren't those usually used for microscopes?"

"Yes, but they also can be used in beam weapons to concentrate energy." Bridge replied, pleased that he was finally able to give an honest answer to someone's questions. Across the room, Kat nodded in agreement, completely oblivious to Bridge's internal conflict. "We believe that Gruumm may be in the final stages of building such a weapon. If that is the case, then the Earth is in very great danger."

"And we may have just handed him the final piece!" Jack said angrily. All the rangers hung their heads morosely.

"It's only going to get harder, Rangers. Now that Gruumm has that lens, you must be doubly on your guard. Dismissed!" Cruger turned towards Bridge. "Oh, and Cadet Carson?"

"Yes, sir?"

"Can I have a word with you?"

Bridge nodded, painfully aware of Cruger's searching gaze.

"Is there anything you wish to tell me, Cadet?"

For a moment, he was tempted to confide in the commander. But then he thought of what the consequences might be, and hesitated. 'No!' he resolved. 'I can handle this on my own.'

There was only one possible answer.

Bridge shook his head. "No, sir."

* * *


	7. Of Old Friends

'I failed them. I failed them all today. Everyone. My team, SPD, the whole planet.'

After checking to see that his room was empty, Bridge slid disconsolately down the wall until he was sitting on the floor.

The green ranger put his head in his hands. 'Pull yourself together, Bridge! You've dealt with worse than this.' He paused for a moment. 'Well, maybe not. But still…' Bridge sighed heavily, remembering his teammate's reaction. 'Jack seemed really upset.'

'He'll get over it,' Bridge eventually decided. 'Jack is always upset at Sky, and they seem to manage well enough.' He brightened at the thought of his room-mate. Sky had always stood by Bridge, even from their first day in the academy.

* * *

He remembered the first time they had met. He had been 14 years old, and this was his first day at SPD. He had been accepted early on account of his powers.

His adoptive family had enthusiastically supported his entrance to the academy. Bridge privately thought that they were only too glad to be rid of him and his 'problems'. He had never been close to them. At first, they had tried to be understanding, but they were not prepared to deal with a grief-stricken 7 year old genius, much less a 7 year old with super-powers.

They were afraid of him. He had hoped that over time they would grow accustomed to him and his strange ways, but it had never happened. And even until the day he left, he felt their hostility and their fear. Were he a little less morally upstanding, he might have exploited that and used it against them. As it was, he ignored them, and for the most part, they ignored him.

Glancing at his schedule, he wandered down the hallway. First impressions were always the most important, and he didn't want to be late. Following the signs, he turned down yet another tiled hallway, only to find his way blocked by a large group of cadets.

"Excuse me," he said, trying to slip by them.

A tall blond human stepped in front of him, his confident and slightly scornful manner marking him as the leader of this group. "Ah, a new RAT."

"Rat?" Bridge asked.

"Recruit At Training. Better than a civilian..."

"...Not as good as a cadet." A different boy finished, pushing his way to the front of the group.

"At SPD, the lowest of the low. The bottom of the heap."

"Oh… okay. I didn't know." Bridge replied, not knowing what else to say.

"You didn't know." Mocked the blonde, his voice taking on a malicious tone. "I don't think that's a good enough excuse, do you?" The other boys shook their heads in agreement. It didn't take empathic powers for Bridge to recognize a bad situation. He turned around, intending to return the way he had come. He would find a different route to class.

His tormenters, however, had no intention of letting him leave. Blocking the hallway, they shoved him back towards the center of the group. "Look!" One of them jeered. "He wears gloves. Like a girl!" And then his wrist was held in a painful grip, and someone carelessly ripped the glove from his hand, throwing it to the ground.

Without the added protection of his glove, Bridge's tenuous control over his powers began to slip. "It's my first day and I'm just trying to get to class so you could please just let me go or I'll be late." He finished breathlessly, tears coming to his eyes. Holding his bare hand to his chest, he tried to leave once more, only to find himself completely surrounded, with nowhere left to go.

One of the cadets shifted slightly, and Bridge caught a glimpse of his glove, lying on the ground between another boy's shoes.

He was never completely sure what happened next.

In the mad dive that followed, he was must have been intercepted by the group's leader. Bridge remembered being pulled backwards, and then his bare hand brushed against the other boy's exposed skin.

Bridge froze, his mind suddenly filled with foreign thoughts and memories. The contact must have lasted only an instant, but to Bridge it seemed like an eternity. Suddenly snapping out of his trance, he scrambled backwards, stammering an incoherent apology.

"I… I'm sorry. I…"

His apology fell on deaf ears. The bully backed away, his eyes wide with fear. "You... you freak!"

The crowd of boys surrounding him began to murmur. Bridge cringed at the sense of such hostility and fear aimed at him. 'I thought I had escaped this,' He though sadly. 'I guess that SPD academy really isn't any different from anywhere else.'

Bridge brought his hands up to his face, forming fists like he had been taught. While he had some basic self-defense training, he knew that he was vastly outnumbered and outmatched – he could not hope to win in a fight against these boys: they were both bigger and stronger, and had the benefit of SPD training.

Bridge prepared himself to be beaten to a pulp.

Unable to run, he stood his ground as his latest victim began to swing towards him – only to have the offending hand trapped in a vice-like grip by a tall brunette with hazel eyes, wearing the uniform of a d-squad cadet. The newcomer twisted the wrist, sending the bully flying off-balance into his cluster of friends.

"Such behavior is unacceptable at the Academy! What do you have to say for yourselves?

The trainees shifted uncomfortably.

"Well?"

"He's a freak," the bully murmured sullenly, his eyes fixed on the ground. "He deserved it."

"You are here to learn to protect and serve, not persecute others for their differences! Do you understand me?"

"Yes, sir!" They chorused, less than enthusiastically. A voice at the back of the crowd murmured something about expecting a freak to help a freak.

The cadet frowned in anger, his keen hearing having picked up the comment. "I will report each of you to your instructors. Dismissed!" Turning to Bridge, he searched the younger boy for injuries."Are you alright?"

"Yeah," Bridge mumbled, picking his glove off the ground and quickly sliding it back onto his hand. "I think so."

Looking up at his savior, he sensed a stable mind, devoted to the principles of SPD – as well as great ambition, a determination to succeed.

"Don't let them get to you. They'll never make a squad anyhow, so they'll soon be gone." He took a closer look at Bridge and frowned. "I don't think I know you. Are you new?"

"Yes, sir." Bridge replied. "It's my first day."

"I'm Bridge, Bridge Carson." He added hurriedly, suddenly remembering his manners. Noticing the cadet's curious look, Bridge blushed in shame. "I... I always have to wear gloves. I'm sort of an empath, or something."

"I'm Schuyler Tate, but you can call me Sky." Sky replied, and Bridge was shocked that he did not even hesitate to shake his hand. People were always afraid to touch him, fearing that he would read their mind, violating their innermost thoughts.

Such a gesture of trust was as unexpected as it was appreciated. Bridge smiled, liking Sky immediately.

They had been friends ever since.

* * *

Bridge had always appreciated his friend's loyalty, even though Sky was sometimes overprotective, and often seemed to forget that he could take care of himself. But Bridge could never lie to him, not for long. Sky knew that Bridge was troubled, more troubled than he would ever admit to the others.

And sooner or later, Sky would find out why.

'I could just tell them.' Bridge considered the idea for a moment, before dismissing it as impossible.

In such a situation, he could see only two options. One, they would believe that his dreams were premonitions. In which case he was a security risk, and should rightfully be expelled from the academy. And the other option was they he was going insane, his powers spiraling out of his control. They would send him to solitary confinement. Bridge shuddered at the thought.

Either way, by revealing his dreams, he stood to lose everything he had come to care for. Maybe it was selfish, but Bridge loved being Green Ranger. He loved his job, and his friends. And all this would be put in jeopardy should he reveal the content of his dreams. 'But I don't know how long I can keep this up. Any more slips like the one today...'

Bridge shook his head dejectedly and gave Sky's empty quarters a long, thoughtful look. Lying down on his bed, he covered his head with a green pillow, trying to banish the day's troubles from his mind.

There was one thought, however, which he could not ignore.

'I'm a liability to the Rangers.' He suddenly realized. Feeling very tired, Bridge slowly drifted to sleep, exhaustion claiming him at last.


	8. A Walk In The Dark

He took the long, winding path around SPD headquarters.

Bridge knew it was against regulations; Sky had reminded him several times.

'Rule 39,' His friend would quote. 'Cadets are not allowed outside after curfew.' There were two exceptions to this rule; neither of them applied to him. Bridge knew all this, and did it anyways.

He felt better when he was outside. Maybe it was because there were less people there, less minds to fend off. Maybe it was the plants, and the wide open spaces. Maybe he just needed the fresh air. Whatever the reason, Bridge had found himself taking nighttime walks on the grounds with disturbing regularity.

He knew the rules were put in place to protect him. But under the strain of both his duties to SPD and his increasingly unstable powers, Bridge had concluded that peace of mind, and perhaps his very sanity, were more important than regulations – a decision which, he was absolutely certain, his roommate would never have agreed with, much less understood.

He could have asked permission. Cruger might even have given it.

This would have been only the latest in a long string of exceptions, all made to accommodate Bridge's needs and strange powers. Sky would probably have a heart attack if he knew how many rules had been bent, broken or otherwise ignored to ensure his continuation at SPD. Were it not for Kat's influence, he might well be doing... well, he didn't know what.

On the other hand, if he went to Cruger, he would have to explain how, exactly, a series of nightmares had driven him to wander the grounds in the dead of night. And that would, eventually, lead to uncomfortable questions about his powers and on to other things which were far too terrifying to even consider.

'It doesn't matter.' Bridge thought firmly, turning his attention back to the path. 'They won't find out.' Unless there was an emergency, no one would know he was gone. And in that case, he reasoned, they could call him through his morpher. Dismissing a slight twinge of guilt, Bride stifled a yawn and continued walking. He had already completed one circuit when he sensed something strange.

* * *

Bridge found himself drawn to the farthest areas of the grounds, near the shadowy tree-line marking the boundary of SPD territory. The feeling was stronger there, and he could finally pinpoint what was troubling him. It was an aura, and an evil one at that. Close, too, judging by it's strength. But the alarm had not yet sounded. 'Of course not.' Bridge scoffed. 'It's probably just some minor criminal. The alarm only goes off when something really serious is happening.'

Still, he couldn't just let evil-doers freely wander the streets, especially when it was within his power to stop them. Confident in his ability to handle any minor criminal Newtech City could throw at him, he left the path and began to sneak towards the aura, only to have it abruptly disappear.

Bridge paused in the underbrush, stricken by a disturbing thought.

'What if I'm imagining it? This could all be another dream. Or my powers could be acting up again.' The green ranger stared at his hands, gloved even during the nights.

He could just return to SPD, and pretend this never happened. After all, he couldn't let the others find out that he had spent the night chasing ghosts around the city.

The idea suddenly sounded appealing.

'But what if you're not imagining it?' Whispered a reproachful voice. 'What if there really is something wrong?'

The wind whistled around him, as if attempting to pull him further away from SPD. Bridge shivered in the cold, and wished, for the thousandth time, that he had just stayed in his room, away from evil auras and the empty streets of Newtech City. 'But I have a duty to investigate further.' Bridge eventually decided. 'And besides,' he admitted privately, 'I have to see. I need to know if I'm just imagining this, or if there's something more going on.'

* * *

He was close to giving up when he sensed it again.

Nearly an hour of searching had turned out fruitless – the owner of the aura seemed to expertly elude him, and just when he would feel it nearby, it would disappear once again.

But this time was different. The aura was stronger, and closer. And even worse, there was something disturbingly familiar about this aura, a fleeting impression of danger, and something else he couldn't quite place.

Bridge hesitated. 'Maybe I should call for backup.' He considered, turning to look at the looming silhouette of SPD headquarters. It would require a lot of explanation, and probably an appointment cleaning the Delta Runners, but it was better to be safe than sorry.

'I'm sorry Sky.' He thought regretfully, removing the green morpher from its holster. 'It looks like I have to wake you up again.''

But before he could activate the morpher, the wind returned, and with it came a familiar voice, and a wholly malevolent presence. "So we meet again, green ranger." It hissed. "I have been waiting for you."

"Invisor!" Bridge exclaimed, spinning to face the criminal. "What are you doing here?" What did the monster want with him? First, Invisor had spared him at the factory – and now, the monster had cornered him, away from both the safety of SPD and the support of his friends.

Internally, he cursed himself for being so easily led, for falling straight into the monster's trap. He was alone in a vast metropolis, in the middle of the night. Unless he could somehow reach the others, there would be no rescue.

The green ranger took a few steps backwards, always facing Invisor. "Why did Gruumm send you?" He asked, voicing the question that was foremost in his mind. If he could just stall long enough to come up with a plan...

As if sensing Bridge's intent, Invisor ignored the question, and began to advance towards the green ranger. "Surrender now, and I won't have to hurt you." The monster intoned, a hint of mockery in his voice.

"Never." Bridge replied seriously. "I won't give in to evil."

"Are you so sure of that?" Invisor insinuated, giving his adversary a knowing look. And Bridge shivered, remembering the dreams and the sinister voice, and the green light of his nightmares.

"I don't pretend to know what will happen in the future." He said, as much to himself as the monster. "But I'm a Power Ranger, and defeating evil is what we do." He looked up at the Invisor. "So I don't know why you're here, or what you want, or how you plan to get it, but the point is, I'm here to stop you."

"SPD..."

He never had a chance to finish, as Invisor attacked.

* * *

Morphed, he was no match for Invisor. Unmorphed, he didn't stand a chance.

The fight had only just begun, and he was already breathing heavily, his right arm hanging limply at his side.

Bridge grimaced. He had no illusions of victory against such a powerful monster, but he was devoted to standing on principle, and would fight to the best of his abilities.

Abilities which, he was forced to concede, might not be enough. Not only was he losing the fight, but he had already lost his morpher, and with it any chance of backup. If he managed to morph, he might be able to hold out until the others came. Presumably, and Bridge had never tested the theory, SPD would be alerted to his peril through the morphing grid.

But that was if, and only if, he could recover his morpher. Bridge bent his arm experimentally, the numbness already beginning to dispel.

'He could have killed me in that attack.' Bridge reflected with a frown. 'He's toying with me.' The monster in question had positioned himself between the ranger and his morpher, but seemed to be waiting, content to let Bridge make the next move. 'Maybe I can use that against him.'

And so, with his life hanging in the balance, Bridge came up with a desperate plan.

* * *

"I will give you one more chance." Said the monster, wholly confident of victory, regardless of the ranger's response. "Come with me without a fight and I will not hurt you... much."

And for a second, the ranger seemed to consider it. The human hung his head, and his grip on his weapon loosened imperceptibly. All signs, Invisor had been told, consistent with the human reaction to defeat. "I can't beat you." The psychic said softly, confirming Invisor's suspicions.

'A logical conclusion.' Invisor thought. The rangers were stubborn, he concluded, but not as unreasonable as he had been led to believe. The monster quashed a brief, but wholly inappropriate, feeling of disappointment.

"Humans are weak." He said aloud, "And you are no different." Approaching his defeated enemy, he reached towards a button on his gauntlet, preparing to teleport them to Gruumm's ship.

The ranger made no move to resist. Which was why, for a moment, he let his guard down.

And in that single instant, Bridge saw his opportunity.

* * *

Twisting away from his captor in the last possible moment, Bridge sprinted for his morpher. Invisor was surprisingly slow to react, and in the valuable second it took the monster to recover, Bridge had already covered most of the ground between himself and the morpher.

 _Invisor growled, and began to pursue his enemy. Furious at such treachery, he grasped for the ranger, intending to end the human's resistance once and for all. But then, something happened which had never happened before, and would never again. He missed._

 _His. claws raked the human's back, tearing through cloth and skin. It was, nevertheless, a glancing blow, and the ranger, taking advantage of his momentary good fortune, made a dive for the morpher._

Ignoring the searing pain that radiated from his back, Bridge reached out, his fingers brushing the morpher. But before he could grab the device, he felt a heavy hand encircle his leg, pulling him backwards.

He tried to pull away, but it was too late.

The last thing Bridge saw was an armored hand, headed straight for his head.

* * *


	9. Fallen

" _You idiot! I told you he was not to be harmed!"_

" _But mistress, he fought back."_

" _Of course he fought back. He's a Power Ranger. That's what they do."_

" _Now get out of my sight. I have work to do."_

* * *

Bridge groaned, and rolled onto his side. Opening his eyes a crack, he assessed his surroundings.

He was in some sort of cell, the bars made from a strange green material. Spidery and organic, the walls beyond were composed of the same substance, and glowed with a muted yellow light. Bridge shivered and looked away.

'Even this room radiates evil,' he thought, slowly getting to his feet. The green ranger instinctively reached for his morpher, which, unsurprisingly, was nowhere to be found. It must still be back on Earth – or, more likely, currently in his captor's possession. 'So much for calling for help.' He thought ruefully. 'Or fighting my way out of here.'

Light footsteps alerted him to his captor's approach. Bridge looked up, and was only mildly surprised to see a young girl standing before him, her eyes betraying an evil nature no child could possess.

"Well, well. What have we here. Bridge Carson, the Green Ranger." Mora mocked, twirling the edges of her black dress.

"Yes, that's me. You're Mora, right? I saw your hologram in the SPD files."

"How nice. He has a picture of me. Don't you think that's nice, Cindy?"

Cindy's head flopped backwards, her single eye staring into space. Cindy had borne much abuse over the years, and looked like it, too. Mora would say that she was 'well loved', but every being that had been granted the 'privilege' of playing house with Mora knew otherwise. But, as is characteristic of dolls, Cindy said nothing of her suffering and remained a pliant, immobile toy.

Her owner, however, seemed to be satisfied with this response, and turned back to Bridge. "Did you like my monster? I made him just for you."

Bridge blinked. "Not really. But thanks for the effort, I guess. I mean, I didn't really like the monster or being kidnapped by the monster, but I said thanks because ... well ...never mind." He paused, having momentarily confused even himself. However, as these situations occurred fairly often, he had long since devised a way to deal with them: he simply changed the topic. "What am I doing here? And where is here?"

"You are aboard the spaceship of Emperor Gruumm. You're here to help with our plan to take over the universe." Mora stated conversationally.

Bridge had not truly expected an answer, especially such a straightforward one. For some reason, he'd always thought that kidnappers never told their captives the truth. It was like buying specialty megazord parts from Piggy: nothing was ever what it seemed and the alien always seemed to come out ahead.

"Since you know who I am, you should already know that I have sworn to defend the Earth." He replied, deciding that a straightforward answer deserved a straightforward response.

Mora laughed. "Yes, I know all about that."

* * *

He waiting for an indeterminate amount of time in the cell. Mora had left, and Bridge took the opportunity to look for some means of escape. 'That's unlikely,' He thought, 'I'm probably orbiting around earth at like a bazillion miles an hour. It's not like I can just jump out the airlock and fly home. But it never hurts to try.'

Heavy footsteps and a stifling aura of evil alerted him that Mora had returned, this time with backup. She crossed her arms and stared at him. "Now play nice, _Power Ranger_. We're going for a walk."

And with that she opened the cell doors, and Bridge was roughly dragged out of his prison by two orange-headed krybots.

* * *

Bridge lost track of how many turns they had taken within the ship. It was a veritable maze of passageways, all possessing the same spidery yellow walls and lingering traces of evil. Each hallway had doors leading off of it, some of which led to rooms and other passageways, and others which led places he could only guess.

Mora, however, seemed to know exactly where she was going, and led the krybots with an unerring confidence that disconcerted Bridge. Occasionally she would begin to skip on ahead, humming softly and smiling as if she was greatly pleased with herself. How had someone so young fallen in with such an evil monster?

"You don't have to do this, you know." He said boldly to her back. "If Gruumm's making you..."

"Ha!" Mora laughed scornfully. "Gruumm's not making me do anything." She stopped skipping, and turned to face him with a disarmingly innocent smile. "I do this because I want to."

Bridge thought for a moment, before reaching the inevitable conclusion. "What could Gruumm possibly offer you?"

"None of your business." Mora snapped. The more he knew, the more dangerous he would be. "Now shut up and walk."

Bridge shrugged, confused by her sudden mood change, and continued behind her, the krybots flanking his every move.

* * *

He was brought to the center of the ship, into what seemed to be the Troobian command center. It was much like the rest of the ship, except for the control panels, the spacious ceilings, and the skeletal throne belonging to Gruumm, emperor of the Troobians.

Bridge gulped. He had seem profiles of Gruumm before, but none of these could have prepared him for the sight of the warlord, with his glowing red eyes and armor composed of ...was that human bone?

The monster gave him a sinister, searching look and began to speak tauntingly. "Are you afraid, Green Ranger? Confused, perhaps? Would you like to know why you're here?" Bridge nodded hesitantly and, after a dramatic pause, Gruumm continued. "I have brought you here because I have constructed a weapon that will allow me to destroy the Earth."

'Kat was right,' Bridge thought, trying and failing miserably to quell his rising panic. 'What should I do?'

"What does this have to do with me?" He replied, braver than he felt.

"I am offering you a simple choice. You can either defeat the Power Rangers, thereby saving the pitiful lives of all the beings on Earth, or I will destroy this pathetic planet, and move on to conquer another world that will better serve my ...needs."

Bridge stroked his chin, trying to act unconcerned. "I think you're bluffing."

Gruumm laughed mirthlessly. "But is that a chance you are willing to take?" The ranger hesitated a moment too long. "Broodwing, power up the weapon."

"With pleasure." Hissed the bat. Pulling up a hidden panel, he quickly maneuvered the many buttons and dials into position. 'This had better work,' he thought. The destruction of Earth would cost him billions of dollars in resources, not to mention ruining his own plans to conquer the planet. "The destruction of Earth will commence in..."

 _5 seconds..._

"You see, power ranger, my quantum disintegrator will reduce your planet to elementary particles – that is, unless you join me."

Bridge fell to his knees. "I can't betray my friends..."

Gruumm smiled cruelly. "Wouldn't it be worth it? Are you truly willing to be responsible for the deaths of 24 billion innocent beings?"

 _4 ..._

Bridge felt a sudden, piercing anger towards Gruumm, the monster who would make such an accusation against him. "I'm not the murderer here! You are!"

"But you're willing to stand by and see them destroyed, knowing that you could have saved them?"

 _3 ..._

Gruumm pressed up a button, and a viewing screen appeared, offering Bridge an unobstructed view of the end of the world.

The quantum disintegrator turned slowly to face the Earth, aiming directly at the center of the planet. Brilliant blue energy began to amass within the machine, focusing to a single, incredibly powerful point.

Bridge stared at the screen, both horrified by the sight and unable to look away, frozen in a terrible moment of indecision.

 _2 ..._

He saw his life flash before his eyes.

A childhood visit to the ocean. The sound of the waves, and the birds. The whisper of the green sea.

His parents, who loved him and left him behind, gone on a trip from which they never returned.

His training at SPD, his joy in finally being able to control his powers.

His friends, who had stood by him even during his moments of doubt.

His promotion to B-Squad.

Syd's birthday party.

Sky.

The world he had sworn to protect.

 _1 second..._

"Wait. Stop!"

Gruumm raised his hand, and nodded at Broodwing. The mercenary pressed a button, and the weapon slowly powered down. "So, what is your answer?"

Bridge hung his head brokenly. "I... I'll do it."

"What was that?" sneered Mora. "I didn't hear you."

"I'll do it. I'll defeat the Power Rangers."

Gruumm smiled evilly. "Welcome to my service, Green Ranger."

* * *


	10. Inside Job

A hard rock dug into his side, and Bridge could feel sharp blades of grass pressing into his face. Taking a deep breath, the green ranger pulled himself to his feet, shivering slightly in cold.

Where was he? How did he get here?

Steadying himself against a nearby park bench, he tried to gather his thoughts.

What exactly happened between the time he had left his room and now? Had he been sleepwalking? He couldn't remember. It was hard to think clearly with such a splitting headache.

"Maybe I had another nightmare." He said aloud, trying to sound convincing. A quick glance showed his morpher was safely in its holster; however, Bridge couldn't dispel the feeling that he was missing something terribly important.

"I've got tell Kat about these dreams." Bridge reluctantly admitted. Nightmares were one thing, but waking up in a random park – and having no idea of how you got there - was a completely different matter. 'Maybe she has some drugs or something that will help me.'

From somewhere nearby, he could hear the faint whisper of traffic and the low hum of Newtech city night-life. Someone laughed and yelled drunkenly, and an instant later he heard the sound of shattering glass.

Taking a few unsteady steps, he began to walk down a dirt path. A light flickered and buzzed before fading, leaving Bridge to continue on in the dark. He had almost reached the road when he heard an evil, terrifying whisper. 'Have you forgotten so soon?' Whispered a voice that could only belong to Gruumm. 'Have you forgotten our bargain?'

And then it all rushed back. His disastrous nighttime stroll. The super-weapon. The terrible bargain he had made. "No." He replied, partly out of denial. "How could I?"

He ran a hand through his thick hair, only to stop as he felt a small scar on the back of his head. 'Remember what's at stake, Green Ranger.' Gruumm continued. 'Through the device implanted in your puny brain, I can speak directly into your mind. You will follow my every order, or your planet will pay the price.'

"Now go." The warlord continued, after a brief pause. "I will instruct you when the time is right." Bridge bit his lip, and nodded. For now, it seemed, he didn't have a choice.

Finally reaching the road, he ignored the speeding cars and instead searched the skyline for the familiar outline of SPD headquarters. It was closer than he thought, Bridge realized, relieved. If he walked quickly, he could arrive well before dawn – and hours before anyone would realize he was gone.

Anyone, that is, except for Sky. 'He'll be upset, but won't say anything.' Bridge thought. Besides, Sky's disapproval was the least of his troubles.

After all, he had just sworn loyalty to an evil galaxy-conquering monster.

'How did I get myself into this?' Bridge thought, very quietly, in the deepest part of his mind. 'And how do I get myself out?'

But by the time he reached SPD headquarters, he still didn't have an answer.

* * *

From the moment Sky woke up in the morning, he knew it was going to be a bad day.

Long ago, during his first year at the academy, Sky had trained himself to wake early, before the alarm clock rung. Today, however, he woke at the same time as Bridge – that is, an hour later than usual. Which meant he had to rush.

Somehow, he managed to take a shower, throw on his clothes and arrive at the command center with two minutes to spare before the morning briefing. Two minutes early was, in Sky's book, late. And everyone knew it, too.

They were just too tactful to mention it.

Sky stifled a yawn, tired before the day even begun. His dreams had been dark and disturbing, full of battles and images of Gruumm and Broodwing. The nightmares had only gotten worse when Bridge returned from his midnight excursion; after a brief moment of wakefulness, Sky had fallen back into an uneasy sleep and the dreams had returned with a vengeance.

It was strange, Sky considered. These dreams were much more vivid and involved than usual. 'Well, it probably doesn't mean anything,' he eventually decided, firmly banishing the nightmares from his mind.

He had bigger things to worry about than dream interpretation. One of which was, at this very moment, stomping around in downtown Newtech City.

Giant robots took precedent over morning briefings any day, and within moments they had been sent out with the Delta Runners.

In all probability, Sky thought, this was just some random criminal, intent on destroying the rangers for either fame or personal profit. When would they learn? SPD fought and defeated such aliens on a daily basis and, as far as he could tell, this one seemed no different than the others.

"Let's finish this one quickly." Sky said tersely, and the other rangers nodded in agreement. Quickly fusing the runners into the Deltamax Megazord, they attacked the invader.

Sparks flew as the criminal staggered backwards. "SPD!" The rangers yelled. "Stop right there!"

"Not a chance!" Replied the criminal. Raising a gigantic arm, he struck at the rangers, confident of victory... only to have his robot's hand caught in the vice-like grip of the Delta Megazord.

Shoving the alien off balance, the rangers prepared to finish the fight. Arming the mega blaster, they aimed and fired; only to be thrown to the ground as the weapon backfired, a massive explosion scorching the side of the megazord.

The criminal paused a few feet away from the fallen rangers. "Later, power rangers!" He sneered disdainfully, quickly reconfiguring his robot for flight. Within moments, their opponent was only a speck in the sky. "Can we pursue him?" Sky asked. It galled him that any criminal could attack Newtech city so boldly – and get away with it, too.

"Are you kidding?" Jack replied. "And risk another explosion like that?"

"Rangers, return ... command center... repairs." Cruger interrupted, his message interspersed by static.

It seemed that even the megazord's communications had been damaged. The blue ranger groaned inwardly. Today just got a whole lot worse.

* * *

"...This morning's malfunction was unprecedented." Kat said, a concerned look on her face. "I'm worried that the megazord may have been sabotaged."

Cruger turning away from the scientist, growling under his breath. He had enough problems as it was, but he liked to believe that the SPD was successful both due to the power of a just cause, and the team of people devoted to it. The thought that one of his own could be working for Gruumm ...That was a possibility he had no wish to face.

"A traitor? In SPD?"

"It's one possibility, sir. The accident could have been a coincidence, but the chances of such a backfire happening on its own are a million to one."

Cruger sighed heavily. Sometimes he felt like he carried the weight of the world on his shoulders. Kat waited patiently for his reply, a hint of sympathy in her eyes.

"Investigate everyone who has access to the megazord, especially any new recruits."

"The Rangers will have questions – what should I tell them?"

Cruger paused.

During the siege of Sirius, more than one of his old friends had defected to Gruumm's side. He thought he knew them well and had pegged them as honorable and loyal soldiers, but as soon as the tide began to turn against the defenders, they had thrown their lot in with the evil warlord, further weakening Sirius's defenses.

On good days, Cruger could almost pity their fates. But then he reminded himself of the damage they caused, and knew that they had brought it upon themselves. Gruumm was rarely merciful, even to his allies, and had made no exceptions for the defectors.

Thus, in times like these, not even the Rangers were beyond suspicion.

But if he had learned anything in his years as SPD commander, it was that very little was accomplished alone. He had to trust somebody – and it might as well be the ones with the least to gain from defecting to the side of evil.

"Very well. We will fully brief the Rangers. I could use the extra eyes and ears."

* * *

There was a reason Sky was blue ranger, and it wasn't his people skills. He was, however, very observant: more so than Jack or his other teammates would ever give him credit for.

He noticed things.

It was true that he didn't know when Bridge left their room. He also didn't know where he went, or precisely when he came back. But he did notice how tired his roommate was, and how silent he was around the other rangers.

He noticed how Bridge favored his left arm, as if something pained him. He also noticed how Bridge avoided his eyes when they spoke and how, during the afternoon, the normally social green ranger was nowhere to be seen.

After searching all the usual haunts, Sky ultimately found the green ranger in their room, cleaning.

That was when he knew something was terribly wrong.

Bridge hated cleaning.

He didn't really believe in it. And, sure enough, no matter how often the green ranger cleaned his side of the room, his things would gradually creep back to their places on the floor, the desk or the bed, forming cluttered piles across the room. And then he would clean it, and the cycle would start all over again.

"I've been meaning to ask you," Sky began, startling his roommate. "What happened to your back?"

"I was attacked by... a cat." Bridge said lamely, cursing himself for his carelessness. How had Sky known? 'He must have seen me changing this morning.' Bridge realized. 'I have to be more careful.' At the time, he had tried to be inconspicuous. Obviously, his efforts weren't enough.

He looked back at Sky, who was frowning at him. "A cat, huh?" Sky repeated, disappointed. The blue ranger sighed. "Bridge, you're my best friend. But I can only do so much. I promised not to report your late-night walks, but you need to get your act together before Jack or Cruger notices."

Bridge swallowed, and hung his head. "I'll try, Sky."

The blue ranger nodded. "I know." Walking over to his desk, he grabbed his handbook and turned to leave. But at the door he paused, and turned back. "And Bridge?"

"Yes?" The green ranger replied apprehensively.

"Cats have four claws, not five."

* * *

By the time a special briefing was called, Bridge was a nervous wreck. Tormented by a guilty conscience, he could only wait and rationalize away his worries. Had he been exposed already? 'No,' he reasoned. 'There's no way Cruger could have found out. I haven't done anything.'

'Not yet, at least.' He amended. He was certain that Gruumm would have an assignment for him, probably sooner rather than later. 'I'm not cut out for this.' Bridge thought, trying not to fidget nervously. 'If anyone at the academy had told me I was going to be a spy, I would have laughed at them.'

The minutes went by agonizingly slowly. As he waited for Cruger to arrive, Bridge tried to distract himself, first by staring at the clock, and then by listening in on his teammates' conversations.

"Nice job." Syd was saying, speaking to Z in undertones. "You nearly got us killed today."

"Me? Why is this my fault?" The yellow ranger argued. "Sky was the one pressing all the buttons."

"Look, we did everything the way we usually do." Jack interceded, hoping to head off an argument. "The explosion probably wasn't **any** of our faults."

"You're right, Cadet Landors." Cruger interrupted. The five b-squad cadets snapped to attention, saluting their commander.

"At ease." He ordered. The commander began to pace in front of them, and after a moment he turned to speak. "I have called you here," Cruger began, "because it has come to my attention that there may be a traitor within SPD."

"What?"

"No!"

"How is that possible?" Syd asked.

Sky however, remained silent, remembering Dru Harrington and Sophie. Admittedly, he had a terrible record at detecting traitors within SPD. Perhaps, although he was loathe to admit it, he was just a poor judge of character.

However, the lessons he had learned were valid. 'Anyone could be working for the enemy,' the blue ranger reminded himself. 'Even those you think are your friends.'

Bridge, on the other hand, was silent, but for completely different reasons. For the second time in a single day, he saw his life flash before his eyes. 'This is it.' He thought. 'It's over. They've caught me already. The Earth is doomed.'

But then Cruger continued. "You five are the only ones I can trust with this knowledge."

'Five?' Bridge looked up, suddenly hopeful. 'That means...'

"Kat has brought up the possibility that the megazord may have been sabotaged."

There was a stunned silence. "I need you to keep an eye out for anything, or anyone suspicious." Cruger carefully studied each of their faces. "You must be careful, Rangers. Anyone able to infiltrate SPD would have to be very skilled - and very dangerous."

"It could be anyone." Syd exclaimed. "SPD must employ thousands of people!"

Cruger nodded at her assessment. "And that's why you have to be careful. Don't let your guard down, Rangers."

"Right!" Jack resolved. "Earth is counting on us."

"But what if it was an outside job?" Sky wondered aloud.

Cruger shook his head. "Then they're already long gone."

* * *

The rangers slowly filed out of the command center, each struggling to come to terms with the day's events. Lost in his own thoughts, Bridge didn't notice how Z hung back from the others and, for a moment, walked beside him in silence.

"Okay, out with it." She said suddenly, scrutinizing him. If possible, her teammate was looking even worse than usual – which was saying something. The last few weeks had been hard on Bridge, and she wasn't one to sit by and let a friend get hurt. 'Time for an intercession.' She decided.

"Huh?" Bridge replied distractedly. "What?"

"Something's been bothering you." Z said, and held up a hand as he tried to formulate an excuse. "No, not this new 'sabotage the megazord' thing. You've been acting weird for weeks. The only one who seems to know anything is Sky, and he won't tell me anything. He's playing the strong, silent type again... anyhow, I know we haven't know each other for very long. But still, we're teammates and I'm pretty sure we're friends too."

Bridge stared at the ground guiltily, looking anywhere but at his teammate. Telling the truth wasn't an option, and he was a bad liar anyhow.

"Come on, Bridge." She urged. "In times like these we have to stick together."

Bridge visibly winced, and then sighed heavily. "It's nothing important. I just haven't been sleeping well lately, that's all."

"Your powers?"

'If only it was just that.' Bridge thought miserably, but he said nothing of his troubles. "I think so." He said instead, unconsciously rubbing his gloves. "Sometimes... I wish I didn't have them at all."

Z gave him a sympathetic look. "You know, I used to hate my powers. At school, everyone teased me, and made fun of me. Even my parents didn't understand. That's why I ran away."

"I thought nobody would accept me, and was alone for a long time. And then I met Jack, and everything changed." She smiled slightly. "I finally felt accepted, and because I felt accepted, I began to accept my powers, too."

The green ranger simply shrugged, not knowing what to say.

"Bridge, you're a part of SPD." Z continued. "You're an important member of our team, and your powers are part of that. So what are you so afraid of?"

But Bridge was thinking of the super-weapon and Gruumm's flashing red eyes. "If you only knew..." He said softly, but she was already too far away to hear.

* * *


	11. Special Investigations

There was so much to do, he didn't know where to begin. What did they expect of him? He was only the head gadget tester – he didn't know anything about investigations and megazord saboteurs. All he did was help Kat in the lab!

Agitated, Boom walked a little faster. The giant stack of papers and reports shifted perilously in his arms, and a note slipped from the top of the stack, falling to the ground behind him. Carefully bending down to retrieve it, he shoved it back into the pile.

Straightening in a hurry, he nearly collided with Bridge, who was walking the other direction. "Oh!" Boom exclaimed, "Sorry, Bridge! I didn't see you." A few stray papers escaped his grasp, drifting traitorously away. "I was distracted..." He said almost tearfully, chasing the papers around the hallway.

"What's wrong?" Bridge asked, concerned. Boom was usually scatterbrained, but he hadn't seem his friend so stressed out since the day he dropped out of the Academy.

"Kat wants me to do a diagnostic on the main computer," Boom explained. "...and I have so many other things I have to do today!"

"The main computer? Why?" Bridge asked curiously. "It was working fine earlier."

"Well... Kat told me not to tell anyone, but it's probably okay if I tell you. It's to see..." He bent in closer and whispered, "...if anyone's tampered with it."

"Oh." Bridge shurgged. "I guess that makes sense."

"So you'll help me?" Boom asked pleadingly, giving Bridge his most pitiful look.

"Um... I don't know..."

"Please? There's just too much to do, I can't handle it alone."

It took only a few minutes for Bridge to relent. Sometimes, he was far to nice for his own good. "Okay."

"Great!" Boom said brightly. "I won't have time to do it until this evening, so come by then." He lowered his voice again. "Oh, and... don't tell Kat, okay?"

"I won't." Bridge promised. And for a fleeting moment, he felt a terrible urge to confide in his friend, to tell Boom about what he had done.

But he couldn't. 'For the sake of the Earth, I had better hope they don't catch me.' He thought. 'If I spend the rest of my life in prison, I won't be in a position to save anyone."

 **  
**

* * *

For the first time in his career at SPD, Sky had been summoned alone to Cruger's office. Previously, he had always been with another member of his squad – and he could count the number of times that had happened on one hand.

As far as Sky knew, Cruger was rarely in his office: the commander preferred to be out and about, and could almost always be found in the command center, or training his cadets. Even Jack had only the occasional private briefing – and he was red ranger!

Overall, Sky suspected that truly sensitive information tended to bypass the ranger teams altogether, and remained between Cruger and Kat. Which, of course, made this meeting even more of a mystery.

But these were strange and difficult times. A traitor in SPD – at first, he could hardly believe it!

But the more he thought it, he was forced to admit that it was not only possible, but plausible. So many people worked at SPD, no one could hope to know them all personally. The Troobians could easily have planted a spy within headquarters. And this spy had access to the megazord.

It was a scary thought.

Entering the small office, he saluted Cruger, and waited for the commander to speak.

"You're probably wondering why I've called you here." Cruger began. "As you probably know, SPD is in a very precarious situation. There's a saboteur amongst us, and they are skilled and unusually bold. The megazord could have been destroyed this morning, along with your team and any chance we have of defeating Gruumm."

"In these circumstances, an official investigation is not enough. That's why I called you here." The commander looked Sky straight in the eyes. "I need you to watch for anything unusual. To follow leads, and to do it discretely. To see if there's anything we might have missed."

"Yes, sir!" Sky replied, and a moment later had a terrible suspicion. "But... can I ask you something, sir?"

"Go on, cadet."

"Why did you choose me? Why aren't you telling this to the other rangers?"

"I chose you because I trust you." Cruger replied simply. "I knew your father, and I've known you since you were a child. I believe that it's against your nature to serve evil."

"But what about the others?" Sky pressed.

"I would trust the other rangers with my life." Cruger said, visibly hesitating before continuing. "But no one is infallible, and Gruumm can be very persuasive. We can't take any chances."

"I won't hold it against you if you refuse." The commander continued softly. "I know that this is an unfair thing for me to ask. I understand that you have loyalties to your teammates, as well as to SPD."

"You don't have to decide right away. But whatever you choose, this conversation has to remain between you and me."

"Yes, sir." Sky said somberly.

Cruger nodded. "Dismissed." And so he left, conflicted, his mind full of doubts and terrible implications. 'Everyone is a suspect.' Sky realized. 'Even the rangers.'

Cruger has to be wrong.' He thought. 'I know I would never betray SPD, but neither would the others... would they?' He wanted to say that it wasn't possible, that it would never happen. That he trusted them beyond all doubt. But he couldn't.

And, deep down inside, he hated himself for that.

* * *

In his very short life, Invisor had experienced a broad range of emotions. Although he was created only a few days ago, those days had been full of intense experiences... and dark feelings.

Hatred came first. He was rooted in hatred. First for his enemies, then for himself.

Then came anger. Anger at the rangers and their trickery. Anger at his creator, who had brought him into such a life.

Boredom came soon afterwards, because he was a monster, and his kind was not made to wait. The mother-ship was quiet now, quiet since Gruumm had paused in his attack on earth, and Mora had obtained a new pet.

There was another emotion there. He felt it at every thought of Mora, and that foul human... her human, the key instrument in her plan. He felt it every time Gruumm mentioned his newest minion, every time he saw Mora's idle doodles, drawings of a destroyed earth and a familiar figure, all dressed in green.

His jealously grew, festering within him, consuming him. 'If only I had killed that ranger while I had the chance.' Invisor thought bitterly. 'Then I would have been chosen to destroy SPD.'

'What does the human have that I don't?' Invisor fumed silently. 'I am more powerful than him – I defeated him... twice! Yet the human was vital to the invasion, and the ultimate conquest of earth. In comparison, he was unimportant, expendable. Mora had chosen the ranger over him.

He imagined his claws encircling the rangers neck. Oh, yes, the human would struggled. His hand would flail as he struggled for air and then, a quick twist and a snap later, the human would be dead, and he would take his rightful place as victor.

An unfortunate krybot passed him, and he offhandedly severed its head from its neck. It fell to the ground, twitching uncontrollably before exploding into a smoking pile of circuitry. 'The ranger will feel my wrath.' The monster vowed. 'One day, my time will come.' He stalked onwards, searching for something to kill.

He was, after all, a monster.

* * *

Sometime after Boom had left him, he had begun to hear an odd buzzing in his head. It was more than a feeling, but something less than a noise. It was like electricity was racing through his mind, and it was only getting worse. He shook his head, trying to dispel the sensation. That was when he heard the voice.

'Ranger...' It whispered. 'Ranger!' Bridge shivered. He was never going to get used to the idea that Gruumm could speak directly into his mind.

Looking around, he hurried to an empty stretch of corridor. After all, he didn't want anyone seeing him staring into space or worse, talking to himself. 'Yes?' He thought back, concentrating very hard on sending the message.

There was such a long pause, he wasn't sure that Gruumm had heard him. 'It's time for you to fulfill your end of the bargain.' The warlord eventually said. 'I have a task for you.'

Bridge swallowed, his mouth suddenly dry. 'What do you want me to do?'

'Cruger's computers have some very important information on them. Information concerning SPD's defenses.' Gruumm paused for emphasis, and then continued in a more strident tones. 'I must have this information. And you're going to get it for me.'

'There are powerful security systems on all the SPD computers,' Bridge thought back. 'What if I can't do it?'

'You can.' Gruumm stated, his voice cold as ice. 'And you will.' And with the that monster was gone, and he was alone. For a moment, Bridge waited by the wall, paralyzed by misery and his own anxiety. 'This is it.' He thought, biting his lip. 'I can't believe this is actually happening.'

'But what else could I have done?' He asked himself, searching for an answer, some option that he had missed. 'No,' He ultimately concluded. 'I don't have a choice. Gruumm is right. I will do this.'

'I have to.'

* * *


	12. The Power of a Deadline

Dinner in the mess hall was a tense, awkward affair. Bridge, lost in dark thoughts, said nothing to his teammates and long-time friends. Instead, he stared at his food, pushing it around on his plate.

Sky was also silent. Every once in a while he would look at the others, like there was something he needed to say, but just as quickly he would change his mind and continue mechanically shoveling food into his mouth.

Jack also seemed determined to eat his food and leave as quickly as possible. The only sound at their table came from Z and Syd, who were half-heartedly arguing over Peanuts, who seemed to have gone missing once more.

"I looked everywhere!" Syd exclaimed. "I just know he's in that junkyard that you call a closet."

"Why would Peanuts be in **my** closet, Syd?" Z argued. "R.I.C probably hid him somewhere again."

"I don't know why he'd be there. I just know that the last time I saw him, he was on my bed, and when I returned he was missing!"

"I didn't take him, Syd!"

"But..."

Whatever Syd had been about to say was interrupted by Sky, who slammed his cup down on the table, silencing the two instantly. The blue ranger scowled at them, irritated. "How can you be arguing over Peanuts at a time like this?"

"Give it a rest, will you Sky?" Z snapped back. "You're not the only one who's worried. But there's nothing we can do about it right now."

"Calm down, everyone." Jack said, taking control. "Look, I'm sure it'll work out. We're Power Rangers. We're not going to be beaten by one Troobian spy." Spearing a pea on the end of his fork, he popped it into his mouth. "Right, Bridge?"

"Right." Bridge replied unhappily. Feeling a sudden surge of nausea, he shoved the plate aside, and hastily excused himself.

He didn't care what they thought about his strange behavior. 'How am I supposed to pretend like everything's fine and nothing is wrong?' Bridge wondered. He never was the best at hiding his feelings – that dubious honor went to Sky.

Of course, Sky couldn't hide his true feelings from Bridge. Really, when he thought about it, no one could – if he had his gloves off. 'And now, even sometimes when I have my gloves on.' He thought, with a slight twinge of fear.

As he rounded the corner, he heard two familiar voices, coming towards him. Looking around for someplace to hide, he ducked into an empty room, and strained his ears to hear their conversation.

"Doggie, I think we should increase security on the labs." Kat was saying. "There's too much sensitive technology and data there – if Troobians were to gain access, it could be disastrous."

"Good idea, Kat." Replied the commander. "However, our first priority must be securing the megazord."

Bridge felt, rather than saw, Kat's nod. "I'll continue my diagnostic of the megazord, and start working on the labs tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?" Bridge thought, panicked. "But if she does that, I might not be able to complete my mission for Gruumm!" He paced across the empty room, agitated. This was happening too fast. It seemed like his entire life was spinning out of control. 'It's too soon! I can't...'

But somehow, he doubted that Gruumm would be willing to hear his excuses. The warlord was certainly not beyond hurting innocents to manipulate him, and he dreaded to see what the price would be for his failure.

'Whatever I'm going to do,' He realized. 'I'm going to have to do it quickly.'

* * *

It took several handstands and a few minutes of aimless wandering around base for Bridge to remember that he was, indeed, supposed to be somewhere after dinner – namely, Kat's lab. "Bridge!" Boom exclaimed, cheerfully greeting the green ranger as he entered the room. "You're here. I..."

A loud beeping noise interrupted Boom, and he flashed Bridge an apologetic look as he pulled a phone from his pocket. "Hi, mom." Boom answered, in resigned tones. "Yes, mom. No, mom. I know how to do laundry, mom."

"Sorry!" He whispered to Bridge, before hurrying from the room. "I'll be right back."

Knowing that it would be a while before Boom returned, Bridge took a seat in a nearby chair, and stared at the computer panels in front of him.

'Let's think about this rationally, Bridge.' He told himself, returning his thoughts to the dark task assigned to him. 'Gruumm told me that my badge acts as a transmitter. But I can't just attach my badge to the main computers – every SPD badge is unique, and they might be able to trace me.'

'So I need something untraceable, that could belong to anyone.' He concluded. Looking around the room for something suitable, he finally noticed a datapad, abandoned on a table.

'An empty datapad should be easy to get." Bridge thought, pleased with his solution. 'And that means that all I need is the password.'

Bridge sighed. That was easier said than done. Those passwords were closely guarded secrets – they were distributed on a need to know basis, and even the rangers didn't have full access.

Well, at least there was one thing he could try. Moving closer to the computer, Bridge removed a glove, and scanned the machine. There were so many images of people hurrying, typing, images flashing across the screen. The images were jumbled... there were just too many people, and too many auras. There was no way he could find out the password from that.

'Who am I kidding?' Bridge thought angrily, pulling back on his gloves. 'What am I doing here? I don't even know where to start!' It was one thing, after all, to agree to betray the power rangers, and quite another to actually do it.

Outside the door, he could hear Boom on the phone. "No, I don't want to come home and work in Aunt Mildred's grocery shop!" Boom was saying. "I like working at SPD, mom."

Despite the seriousness of his situation, Bridge smiled and shook his head. Boom's parents had been trying to get him to leave SPD ever since they found out that he wasn't the orange ranger.

'If only I could read his mind.' Bridge thought wistfully. 'I bet he knows the password.' Boom could sometimes be spacey, and didn't have the best luck with machines, but he knew everything that went on in Kat's labs.

'Maybe I can.' Bridge realized suddenly, wondering why the idea hadn't occurred to him before. Hurrying across the room, Bridge placed his hands against the wall, opening his mind to the flood of thoughts and emotions that surrounded him.

The images came in a jumble, flashing through his mind. Forcing himself to concentrate, Bridge began to sift through Boom's memories.

Grandma's cookies. Kat explaining some sort of device. Countless megazord battles, and memories of the rangers. Scattered amongst those were memories of himself, his life at SPD seen through Boom's mind.

'Lab password.' Bridge inserted the thought, hoping that Boom's subconscious would provide the answer.

The images around him swirled and changed, and then he finally glimpsed what he had been searching for. There, hidden behind a final mental wall, was the password, the secret he had been searching for. He could feel Boom's mind fighting him, trying to force him away but he had gone too far to back out now.

He didn't know how to take the information gently. Somewhere in the distance, he heard Boom suddenly cry out in pain, and the sound of a phone dropping. And then he knew the answer, knew what the password was.

But as he tried to disentangle himself from Boom's mind, something changed. Instead of pulling away, Bridge felt himself suddenly being drawn deeper. 'No!' Bridge thought, terrified. 'I won't be trapped here!'

Resisting with all his strength, Bridge yanked himself free from Boom's mind, shoving himself away from the wall. Steadying himself on a chair, Bridge clumsily replaced his gloves and hurried outside, dreading what he might see.

Bridge's heart nearly broke to see Boom slumped against the wall, whimpering softly in pain. "Boom?" He said softly, longing to reach out, but afraid to harm his friend more. "Are you alright?"

"My head... it hurts..." Boom whispered.

"I... I'll get help." Bridge promised, not knowing whether Boom could still hear him. He tapped on his communicator. "Kat? Something's wrong with Boom."

* * *

He watched as the medical team arrived, and as Kat fussed over her assistant. "Will he be alright?" Bridge asked anxiously, pulling one of the medics aside.

"What?" She said, distracted. "Yes, He'll be fine. See, he's feeling better already." And indeed, color was already beginning to return to Boom's face.

Bridge turned and left before anyone could question him. He didn't wait around to speak to Boom. He didn't think he could bear it.

'I could have killed him.' The green ranger thought guiltily. 'I didn't know it would hurt him...'

Bridge suddenly realized how much danger he had put both Boom and himself in. 'I don't know anything about these new powers! I could have killed us both... I could have been trapped in his mind, and never been able to escape!' He thought back to that terrible moment, when he felt Boom's mind drawing him in and the darkness closing around him.

Bridge wondered for a moment what it would have been like if he had just let go, let himself slip away. "Maybe I would have become Boom. Or Boom would have been me. Or maybe I'd be both Boom and myself at the same time." Bridge resolved never to find out. Being trapped in Boom wouldn't be so bad, but to be Mora, or Broodwing? That would be a fate worse than death.

'I'm never going to use that power, ever again.' Bridge promised. He had no desire to suddenly become privy to other people's memories or their deepest secrets, much less be trapped inside their mind. It was hard enough knowing their feelings.

Bridge unconsciously rubbed his hands together. For the millionth time in his life, he wished that he was normal, and that his parents had never met the brilliant scientist known as Kat Manx.


	13. Insomnia

Sky was a paranoid person by nature, and recent events had only made him worse. This was one of the reasons, no doubt, that Cruger had chosen him as a spy.

Another reason was that he took his duties, and his friendships, very seriously.

Duty required that he investigate all suspicious behavior – but also, as a friend, it was his obligation to do what was best for Bridge.

And up until this point, he had respected his friend's wishes, and not interfered in his nightly outings.

But something was wrong, and he had to know what it was. Things couldn't continue as they were now – surely, Bridge could see that? The nightmares and secrets were obviously taking their toll on them both.

So he waited, with his eyes closed, as Bridge tiptoed around their room. He heard Bridge open his closet, and the muted rustling as Bridge removed something from inside.

Sky stayed perfectly still, feigning sleep, until Bridge quietly closed the door behind him. Then he counted to ten, threw on his shoes, and followed him from the room.

* * *

It took only a few seconds for Bridge to realize that he was being followed. Sky's aura was unmistakable. 'He's onto me.' Bridge thought.

'No,' He reassured himself. 'I have a mission to complete. I'm not going to be caught by Sky, not today.' Chancing a look behind him, Bridge made a sharp turn down a side passageway and broke into a run.

* * *

Bridge took the stairs three at a time until he reached level twelve. Ducking into the nearest room, he paused a moment to catch his breath.

A faint noise echoed from the stairwell behind him, and Bridge silently cursed his luck. The blue ranger was still following him, and Sky was getting closer.

Bridge looked around, searching for something, anything that could help him escape. His left hand brushed metal, and Bridge looked down, startled.

On the wall beside him was a grate, undoubtedly connected to the vast ventilation system of SPD headquarters.

'Sky would never find me in there.' He thought. Working quickly, Bridge pulled a tool from his pocket and pried the grate from the wall.

The ventilation shaft looked small and uncomfortable, but it would have to do. Without a second thought, Bridge crawled into the vent, replacing the grate behind him.

* * *

Sky wandered the hallways for several minutes, but saw no sign of Bridge. It seemed as if the green ranger had simply disappeared.

'He has to be around here somewhere.' Sky thought with a frown, peeking into yet another deserted classroom. But the question was... where? Very few people knew SPD as well as Bridge did, and after a few more minutes of fruitless wandering, he was forced to admit that Bridge was gone.

Sky gritted his teeth in frustration, and turned down a new corridor, only to nearly collide with a frightened pink ranger.

"Sky!" Syd exclaimed, jumping in fright. "You scared me!"

"Syd?" Sky hissed, startled. "What are you doing here?"

"I was looking for Peanuts." She said matter-of-factly, holding up the toy. "I can't sleep without him. Anyhow, what are **you** doing out here?"

"I was... looking for someone." Sky replied, knowing it was a lame excuse. "You know this is against regulations!" He added, falling back into old habits. "If Cruger finds you..."

Syd shook her head. "He won't find out unless you tell him. And if you do that, I'll tell you him were **also** wandering around after curfew without permission."

"Fine." Sky snapped. "I didn't see you, and you never saw me." And with that ultimatum, he left in a huff, leaving Syd alone in the hallway.

'What's with him?' She wondered. Sky almost never broke the rules! Well, except for when he was with Dru, but that was a long time ago, back when they had first joined the Academy!

Syd shook her head. 'Everyone on this base is going crazy.' She concluded, and headed back to her room.

* * *

By the time he reached the large ventilation shaft, Bridge was ready to admit that this plan, spur of the moment as it may have been, wasn't half bad.

All the air vents in SPD were connected via a few central conduits. Using those, he should be able to reach Kat's lab, take the files and leave the same way he had come.

Gruumm would be satisfied, and no one would be the wiser.

Taking his data pad from a side pocket, he pulled a detailed map of SPD onto the screen, and continued onwards.

* * *

After what seemed like an eternity of crawling through dusty, narrow tunnels, Bridge reached the first location indicated on the map. Voices and a humid smell came from below, and looking through the grate, he could see upon row and row of plants.

'The botany lab.' Bridge realized. 'I'm almost there.'

Turning away, Bridge continued onwards. After a time, the voices faded away, and the only noise was his breathing and the low throbbing of fans.

Far in the distance, he could see light shining through yet another vent. A quick glance at the map confirmed his suspicions; 'That's it. That one leads to Kat's lab.'

The passage narrowed, forcing him to crawl the last few meters on his stomach. Finally, he reached his destination and pushed on the grating.

It wouldn't budge.

Bridge paused for a moment, considering. Backing out of this narrow place would be difficult, but not impossible. But then what? What would he tell Gruumm?

'This could be the only chance I have.' He thought, and shoved the stubborn grate with all his strength.

It came loose with loud snapping noise and, after a few tense moments of listening and waiting, Bridge began to wriggle through the opening. His head and one arm were already through when a horrible realization hit him.

He was stuck!

* * *

Bridge's breathing accelerated in panic.

'No!' He thought. 'This can't be happening!'

Using his free arm, he pushed against the ledge. His wounded back scraped against the wall, and Bridge winced at the pain.

Straining against the opening, he managed to free his other arm. The rest of his body followed, and Bridge dropped ungracefully to the floor.

Getting to his feet, he hurried to the nearest computer. Carefully placing his datapad on the table, he waited anxiously for the password screen to load.

Looking around suspiciously, he quickly entered Boom's password.

 **"Password**   **accepted – level 2** **clearance."**

'Let's do this.' Bridge told himself, determined. 'First, to bypass the controls...'

* * *

This night, like many others, Cruger couldn't sleep. Instead, he found himself wandering the hallways of SPD, searching for... well, he didn't really know what.

It was amazing how empty SPD could feel at night, Cruger mused. The graveyard shift was in full swing, but at the same time most of the base was abandoned. All the cadets were, he hoped, safely in their rooms.

But even that knowledge didn't shake the uneasy feeling that plagued him. There was no explanation for it, but Cruger felt himself inexorably drawn towards Kat's labs...

* * *

'Almost there.' Bridge thought, tying in another sequence of keys. 'Got it.' Information scrolled by on the screen – the files that Gruumm so desperately wanted. Reports on the internal mechanics of the megazord, blueprints for SPD, images of a beautiful green planet...

Sliding open a panel, Bridge connected his datapad to the computer.

 **'Transferring**   **data, please wait. 95 percent** **remaining...'**

The seconds went by agonizingly slowly.

 **"70**   **percent... 60... 40...** **35..."**

The transfer was at 20 percent when he sensed someone approaching. 'Come on!' Bridge nearly shouted, tapping his gloved fingers against the table in fear and frustration.

 **"5**   **percent ... 4...** **3..."**

He could hear footsteps echoing in the hallway outside. 'It's Cruger,' he realized, and the Commander was almost at the door.

 **"2...**   **1 percent... Transfer** **complete."**

Disconnecting the datapad, Bridge hurriedly replaced the panel. Pressing a sequence of keys, he forced the computer to shut down.

Looking up at the vent, Bridge suddenly realized that there was no way he could go back the way he came. It was too high, and too small.

Jumping on the counter, he fixed the grate, covering his entrance as he looked around for another means of escape. A garbage disposal in the corner of the room caught his eye and, for the second time that night, he was out of time.

'I hope this isn't the incinerating chute," he thought, before throwing himself in.

* * *

He slid down the chute, bruising himself all the way. It was the slide from hell, and Bridge yelped in pain as it spit him out over a pile of metal and broken machines.

Gingerly picking himself up, he avoided the sharp scraps of metal and glass and scrambled from the bin.

'I made it.' He thought numbly. Trembling, he removed the datapad from his pocket. Unclipping his badge from his chest, he waited as the devices synchronized, sending the information... well, he didn't really want to think about where.

Exhausted, Bridge began the long walk back to the dorms.

* * *

Sky lay awake as Bridge returned to the room. Feigning sleep, he slowed his breathing and listened as Bridge changed clothes and crawled into bed.

'I don't understand.' Sky thought, turning to study his sleeping roommate. He had this strange feeling that he was missing something, some key connection. 'What are you hiding?'

* * *

Syd lay beneath her soft, pink covers, and stared at the ceiling, wide awake.

"Z?" She whispered.

"Hm?"

"Do you think that Sky's been acting a little weird?"

Z groaned sleepily. "I don't know." The yellow ranger mumbled after a moment of thought. "He's probably just upset about the megazord." She rolled over to face the wall. "Go to sleep."

Syd rolled over as well, but didn't close her eyes. Instead, she bit her lip anxiously, and hugged Peanuts a little tighter.

* * *


	14. Careless Words

_'They're onto you, ranger._ ' Mora whispered into Bridge's sleeping mind. _'You've been careless.'_

The green ranger jerked awake immediately. _'How do you know?'_ Bridge thought back.

 _'Because I've been listening.'_ Mora stated, as if it was obvious. _'Fortunately, they haven't figured it out yet. They don't know it's you.'_ He felt, rather than heard, Mora's laugh. _'Not even your precious Sky has put the pieces together.'_

 _'Leave him out of this!'_ Bridge replied fiercely.

 _'You care about him, don't you?'_ Mora asked, in a sickeningly sweet voice. _'You're best friends.'_Her tone changed to mocking. _'But you're not a very good friend, are you?'_

Bridge said nothing, refusing to give in to Mora's baiting.

 _'Well,'_ she continued after a moment, and Bridge could tell she was annoyed. ' _Don't let it get in the way of our plan.'_

 _'Oh, I have a present for you._ ' Mora added as an afterthought. _'It's almost ready. If you're nice, next time you come to the ship, I'll show it to you.'_

Bridge lay still for a moment longer, thinking. He didn't know what she was talking about, but he was sure he wouldn't like it.

Getting stiffly out of bed, he reached into his closet and pulled out a new uniform. As he removed the badge from his dirty uniform, he hesitated for a moment before placing it on the new one. He had been so proud of that badge, and everything it represented. But now, after what he had done, he felt dirty and used, and the badge was a reminder of his evil deeds.

Bridge resisted a sudden urge to throw it in the trash. It could have been his imagination, but it seemed to gleam less than it once had.

* * *

'Criminals often return to the scene of the crime.' Sky reminded himself from his perch on the scaffolding above the SPD zords. From here, he could clearly see the bustle of activity around the zords while remaining unseen.

For two hours he had watched and waited, searching for something, anything, out of the ordinary, but with no results. Sky got to his feet with a sigh. It seemed that he was no closer than ever to discovering who sabotaged the megazord.

Pulling out a datapad, he pulled up the personnel files of those with immediate access to the megazord. '514 results.' Read the screen.

'Well, I know that I'm not the traitor, so that makes 513 possible suspects.' Sky reminded himself. But of those, who would have the time, the ability and the motivation to sabotage the megazord?

He didn't know. But even if it was the last thing he did, he was going to find out.

* * *

"Doggie? Can I speak with you?"

"What is it, Kat?"

"There was a strange glitch on one of my lab computers last night. I haven't managed to track it, but a major error definitely occurred." She took a deep breath before continuing. "These things happen occasionally, but the camera records for that time period have also been tampered with."

"They're still here." Cruger growled under his breath. "I want to know exactly who accessed that computer, and what they saw."

Kat frowned. "That may be impossible. Whoever it was knew exactly what they were doing. They covered their tracks well."

"On the other hand, whoever it was knew that I planned to upgrade the security systems today. That narrows down the options considerably."

"Try your best." Cruger said. "The fate of SPD may depend on it."

* * *

"What are you doing?" Z asked suddenly, peering over Sky's shoulder.

Sky jumped in surprise. He had been so engrossed in his reading that he didn't hear her approach. "Nothing." He said, shutting off the screen of his datapad.

"Let me see that." She said, snatching it from his hand. She read for a moment before speaking. "You're investigating the megazord?" She flipped through a few more files. "Background checks? On SPD staff? Pretty serious stuff considering you're off duty."

Sky shrugged. "I'm never off duty. It's part of being a ranger."

"You know," Z commented, a thought suddenly occurring to her. "Some of those files seem pretty classified, even for you."

"I'm not breaking the rules, if that's what you're implying."

"Oh, really? Then who gave you authorization?"

Sky swallowed, realizing that he had painted himself into a corner. "If you must know," he said reluctantly, taking back his datapad, "I'm on a special assignment from Cruger."

"Why just you?"

"Cruger felt I was the best one for the job."

Z crossed her arms and frowned. "What, are the rest of us not good enough?"

"You know that's not true, Z." Sky said firmly, not liking where this conversation was going. "Just let it go. You're acting like Syd – this is SPD business. It's nothing personal."

"You don't trust us." She realized, the pieces suddenly falling into place. "We've fought by your side for months, and you still don't trust us enough to say what's going on."

"That's not true."

"Whatever, Sky. I've seen you sneaking around headquarters the past few days. For all I know, you're making this whole assignment thing up to cover your tracks!"

"For the last time," Sky retorted, beginning to lose his temper, "I'm not hiding anything, from you or from Cruger!"

"You're a terrible liar, did you know that?"

"Look, Z, everyone is on edge right now." Sky said, after a moment of tense silence. "What you're saying doesn't make any sense, and if you thought about it, you'd realize that."

"Realize what?" Jack asked, entering the room at the worst possible moment. The door slid shut behind him.

"Nothing!" Sky and Z said, turning away from each other.

"Whoa." Jack said, staring between the two. "What did I miss?"

* * *

"Errida." Bridge said the word out loud, the name rolling off his tongue.

On the screen in front of him shone an image of the planet which was, quite possibly, Gruumm's next conquest. In it's own way, it was as beautiful as Earth.

'Errida is slightly smaller than Mars.' Bridge recalled from one of his galactic exography lessons. 'It supports humanoid life, and the planet's distinctive green tint is caused by a rare element in it's atmosphere.'

None of the Erridians had ever attended SPD Academy. In fact, none had ever left their home world. According to records, they were a peaceful species who seemed uninterested in space travel.

It just happened that their strategic location made them a prime target for would-be galactic conquerors. So far, SPD and it's predecessors had managed to prevent that from happening.

He wondered if they had their own team of power rangers, and if they were ready.

'Maybe one of them is green.' Bridge reflected. 'Or all of them are green, not ranger-color, but color-color...' He didn't really know what he meant to say.

There weren't that many of them – only 4 billion. He had no doubt that Gruumm would kill and enslave every last one.

'And now he has the information to do it.' Bridge thought. 'He has it because I gave it to him. I gave an evil alien warlord information on another planet's defenses.'

Just a few days ago, he would never have believed that he was capable of such a thing. "What am I doing?" He asked out loud. 'Didn't I swear to protect and serve the galaxy, not just Earth?'

'Maybe I should let Gruumm destroy the Earth and then... then what?' Then the warlord would travel to other planets, conquering other worlds, and Bridge would be dead.

Gruumm would find another planet with the resources he needed... eventually. But the destruction of Earth might be enough to slow him down, long enough for SPD to muster up enough forces to stop him.

It was a sign of how low he had sunk that he was actually considered allowing thirty billion people to die.

A red light flashed on the computer screen, and then beeped insistently when he didn't answer. His first impulse was to ignore it – who would call him in his room? He had no family to speak of, and any of the other rangers could reach him via his morpher.

But before he could make a decision either way, an unpleasant face appeared on the screen in front of him. "If I didn't know better, I'd think you were ignoring my call, ranger." Broodwing said mockingly.

"You!" Bridge exclaimed. He looked around, and lowered his voice to a whisper. "What are you doing here?"

Broodwing gave him a sardonic look. "Don't worry, ranger. This is a private band – no one can hear us."

"Why are you calling me?" Bridge repeated sharply.

"Straight to business. I can respect that." The bat said, adjusting his cape. "I have a counter-offer for you." When Bridge said nothing, Brooding continued. "I've come to make a deal."

* * *


	15. Cross That

"What do you want?" Bridge asked warily. He'd have to be a fool to trust anything Broodwing had to say!

"Join forces with me, ranger." The mercenary said. "Together we can defeat Gruumm... and anyone else who stands in our way."

"You mean everyone who stands in your way?"

Broodwing smiled humorlessly. "Of course. But, do not underestimate how much you have to gain from this agreement. Or do you want to be enslaved by Gruumm forever? You and I have mutual interests... and mutual enemies."

Bridge thought a moment before replying. "If you're saying what I think you're saying, you're telling me that you want me to betray Gruumm and join you. And while there's nothing I want more than to be rid of Gruumm and Mora, I'm not doing this for myself. So there's nothing you could offer me to make me change my mind."

Broodwing narrowed all three eyes in displeasure. "Is that so?"

"You will change your mind, human... I promise. The earlier incident with the megazord is only a taste of what's in store for you – if you continue to defy me."

And with that he was gone, leaving Bridge with a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach, and a sour taste in his mouth.

* * *

Cruger had met many unpleasant and downright irritating people in his life. As Commander of SPD Earth, his job consisted of dealing with some of those people on a daily basis.

However, the man currently waiting on the line stood above the rest in terms of stupidity, poor timing and his ability to annoy.

"To what do I owe this honor, Supreme Commander Birdy?" Cruger asked coldly. There had been bad blood in between the two ever since the Supreme Commander's last visit to earth – which, fortunately, had been several years ago.

Ever since then, their contact had been limited to the occasional long-distance conversation. After all, with so many different SPD bases, the Supreme Commander could hardly be expected to make a personal appearance at them all.

"Cruger," Birdy said stiffly. "I hear you've been having some problems at SPD Earth recently. Something about a traitor?"

"With all due respect, Commander, it's nothing I can't handle. In times of war, betrayal is to be expected."

"Are you any closer to discovering the identity of the saboteur?"

"There are several promising leads," Cruger stated flatly. Birdy waited for Cruger to elaborate, but no answer seemed forthcoming.

"In that case, I expect that this traitor will be found and brought to justice." Commander Fowler sniffed reflectively. "Should it prove outside of your capabilities, I would be happy to send assistance from Galactic Headquarters."

Cruger smiled tightly. "That will not be needed. Good day, Commander." Fowler nodded sharply in reply, and disconnected from the line.

* * *

In a perverse way, Sky had always found it amusing how the patrons of Piggy's café would run and hide at the first glimpse of B-squad.

Tables were overturned and food splattered, and within thirty seconds the restaurant was deserted. "Hey!" Piggy cried, peeking out from his trailer. "What's the big idea?"

"Go away!" He shouted, catching sight of the Rangers. "You're driving away customers!" He waited a moment for them to leave, and then reluctantly came out of his trailer when they wouldn't budge.

"What do I have to do to get rid of you guys?" Piggy asked tiredly. "Or should I say, what do you want this time?"

"Piggy," Z said nicely. "You wouldn't happen to know anything about a mole inside SPD? You know, someone serving Gruumm?"

Piggy gulped. "Nope. Don't know anything about it. Happy now?"

"Not quite." Sky said, arms crossed. "Anyone suspicious come around lately?"

"I already told you I don't know anything!" Piggy retorted, hurrying back to the trailer and slamming the door. "Now beat it!"

"Alright, Piggy." Jack called out. "Have it your way... for now. But we'll be back for more information soon."

"Take your time with that." Piggy grumbled under his breath, from beneath the counter of his café. Shaking his head at the unfairness of it all, he got to his feet only to find himself face to face with Broodwing.

"Broodwing!" Piggy exclaimed, falling back to the ground in surprise. "You scared me! I didn't know you were here."

Broodwing smiled evilly. "Where are all your customers, Piggy?"

"You know, around. If you're looking to talk to any of them, you could start beneath the dumpster, I'm sure some are hiding..."

Piggy cut off with a squeak, as Broodwing grabbed him by the throat. "Seems like you speak to a lot of different people, Piggy."

Piggy laughed nervously, which came out more like a hiccup. "Talk is cheap, Broodwing."

"Yes," hissed the bat. "Yes, it is. Now talk about the Rangers if you want to live."

* * *

"I'm bored!" Mora whined miserably, squirming in her throne. "It's so boring up here. I want someone to play with."

"Then play with some of the krybots!" Gruumm growled angrily, eyes flashing. Mora had been whining and complaining for the past six orbits, and Gruumm was beginning to regret ever turning her into a child. 'Not that she whined and complained less as an adult.'

"I already told you, I **can't** play with the krybots." Mora cried, fake tears forming in the corners of her eyes. "They're boring."

What a wretched brat.

'I could have her thrown out the airlock.' Gruumm considered, allowing himself a slight smirk at the thought. 'Or I could drop her in the engine core.' But then, as Mora had rightfully pointed out, who would make him more monsters?

Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Mora's newest creation, lurking in the shadows. "What about that monster of yours? Go play with him."

"He's avoiding me." Mora leaned in closer, and smiled wickedly. "I think he's _jealous_."

A jealous monster? The thought boggled the mind. " **Jealous**? Of who?"

"The ranger, of course." Mora's eyes lit up. "That's it!" She exclaimed, snapping her fingers. "You should bring him here to play with me."

"The ranger has better things to do than to play with little girls." Gruumm retorted, and immediately regretted it as Mora's wailing reached a crescendo.

"Silence!" He shouted. "I will bring the ranger to the ship if you will just stop that awful noise!"

Mora smiled sweetly through her tears.

* * *


	16. The Genetic Accelerator, Part 1

_I don't know anything about what's going on anymore._

 _Everyone's so suspicious and afraid. I don't blame them; there's so much at stake here, so much we could lose._

 _When I signed up for SPD, I had no idea what I was getting into. I didn't understand what it meant to fight a war – actually, I'm still not sure I do._

 _It was easier when it was just me and Z. True, there were hard times even then. We spent many nights not knowing where our next meal was going to come from, or whether we'd be able to find a safe place to sleep._

 _Here, it's different. I don't have to live from meal to meal anymore, or worry about getting attacked in my sleep. No one here ridicules me, or spits on me in the streets. People respect me now. They look up to me, depend on me to lead them to victory._

 _I never wanted this kind of responsibility._

 _The battles I can handle. They're simple, easy. I know what to do. I've fought my entire life – the only difference is that now I fight as part of a team._

 _You know, I've never had many friends. I guess I never stayed in one place long enough to make them. But over time, I've become friends with Syd, Bridge and even Sky. And if you'd asked me a couple weeks ago, I would have said that I trusted them with my life._

 _I don't know who to trust anymore._

 _Why does it always happen this way? I warned Z, but she's too gullible, too willing to trust people. But I know the truth – in the end, we can only rely on each other. Why doesn't she understand that?_

 _I only joined SPD for her sake, and it's because of her that I stay. She was right about one thing: we're now part of something that matters, something much larger than ourselves. But since I'm red ranger, everyone expects me to have all the answers, to solve all of their problems._

 _I can only do the best I can, and hopefully it will be enough._

* * *

Inside the Troobian mothership, evil was more than a passive entity – it was alive and it throbbed with malice. He could feel its tendrils invading his mind, searching, prodding.

Bridge blocked it out the best he could.

Moments after he teleported to the ship, two orange-head krybots had appeared, seemingly out of nowhere. They said nothing, but Bridge understood – they were there to guide him to Gruumm.

He had no choice but to follow.

They fell back as he approached the throne room, leaving him to face Gruumm and Mora alone. Straightening himself, Bridge cautiously entered the room. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Broodwing lurking nearby, as well as Mora's monster... Invisor, wasn't that his name? The monster caught his gaze and gave him a look of pure hatred and malice.

'So you want me dead,' Bridge thought, uncharacteristically cynical. 'Well, at this rate, you'll have to get in line. Once the other rangers find out what I've done, they'll probably want me dead, too.' Bowing stiffly, Bridge waited for Gruumm to address him directly.

"Ranger." The monster said, after staring at him for an uncomfortably long period of time. "I see you successfully completed your mission."

"Yes." Bridge looked at the floor. "I did what you said. It was difficult, but not impossible."

"Good." Gruumm replied. "I have another task for you, but it can wait... for now." He looked pointedly at Mora, who was practically squirming in excitement.

"Will you play with me?" Mora asked, hopping off her throne. Bridge was going to say no, until he saw the dangerous glint in Gruumm's eyes. "Well, yes..." He agreed hesitantly. "I guess."

"Good." She said, talking him by the hand and leading him away. It took all of Bridge's self-control to not pull away, but somehow he managed it. He could not, however block out all of her thoughts and feelings while in such close contact, and shivered involuntarily.

Mora smiled wickedly. "You're not afraid of me, are you?"

"No, I'm not. At least... I don't think so."

Mora shrugged. "You should be." She led him to a playroom, filled to the brim with toys and tiny play sets. Releasing him, she took a seat at one of the tables, and began to pour tea for them both. Noticing Bridge's hesitation, she looked up. "Remember, you have to play nice. Otherwise, I'll call Gruumm, and you won't like that."

"I'll be nice." The green ranger promised, kneeling on the floor next to the table. Taking a plastic cupcake, he pretended to take a bite and swallow. "Your cupcakes are very... nice, Mora."

"Why, thank you." Mora smiled, clearly enjoying the attention.

A sketchbook, discarded on the floor, caught his eye. He reached out, and carefully flipped through some of the pages. The monsters within were so familiar, and drawn with an expert hand. "Did you draw these? Because they're really good."

"I'm a good artist." Mora boasted proudly, taking another sip of her tea. "I can create monsters just by drawing them."

"How long have you been able to do that?" Bridge asked, genuinely curious. "I mean, were you born with it or did you get it later?"

"I've always been able to do it." A haunted look passed across her face, but it was gone so quickly that Bridge almost thought he imagined it. "It's a pretty cool power, isn't it?" Mora continued, a cruel note in her voice. "It's much more useful than _yours_."

Bridge said nothing. It was true that his powers were often of little use in battle, or anywhere else. Sometimes, he thought that his powers existed just to make his life more complicated.

"I can change that, you know." She said it so softly, he almost didn't hear her.

"What?"

"You didn't think I'd forgotten about your present, did you? Don't you want to know what it is?"

* * *

Kat had been working as a scientist for longer than most of her co-workers at SPD had been alive. And while she appreciated a challenge, Kat hated feeling stumped. No matter how hard she searched, no matter how deeply she analyzed the evidence, it all just didn't add up.

She was missing something important, some critical connection.

Kat sighed. Maybe this really was a witch hunt, and she was simply paranoid. It was still possible, however unlikely as it might be, that the last week's events had simply been a string of unfortunate coincidences.

'No, I can't take that chance.' Kat thought. 'I care too much about Earth, and the people here to risk throwing it all away.'

'Maybe I just need to look at this from a different angle.' She thought, determined to get to the bottom of this. 'Let's go back to the incident with the lab computers, and the first few moments when it was accessed. There must be something, a file or a record, _anything_ that was not deleted.'

'If there's something here, I _will_ find it.'

* * *

"Your powers are unstable." Mora explained, walking at a brisk pace through the winding hallways. "You're lucky that the other rangers are too stupid to realize that, and what a danger you are to them."

"How do you know all of this?" Bridge asked, a little defensively.

Mora shrugged. "I know all kinds of things. And did you really think that Gruumm would let you onto his spaceship without scanning you? And after Invisor told me about what happened when you fought him, it didn't take long for me to put the pieces together."

"Oh." Bridge replied, feeling stupid. "But... what are you going to do? And why do you care?"

"I don't. Care, I mean. All I care about is defeating the rangers, and Gruumm conquering this planet so that we can move on to the next one." She flashed him a quick smile. "That's why I chose you."

"We're here." Mora announced a moment later, coming to a stop in front of a door. A techno-organic grate slid open, and Bridge cautiously entered the room.

It was an area of the ship he had never seen before. He was standing on a wide platform, and in front of him was a bridge leading over what looked like a whirling maelstrom of energy. 'That must be the engine core.' Bridge thought, his analytical mind already at work. 'Why would she bring me here?'

The entire room thrummed with power, and occasionally, he could hear a deep grinding noise, coming from somewhere deep within the ship. A little to the side, Gruumm and Broodwing waited, clearly watching him with great interest. If this was a trap, there would be no escape.

'No.' Bridge reasoned. 'They won't kill me now, not when I'm still useful to them.' It was then that something, far at the other end of the bridge, drew his attention.

Against the wall was what looked like a huge metal pillar. In front of it was a door, and from between the cracks he could see a pulsating green light shining from within. "And that," Mora pointed proudly, "is the genetic accelerator."

"What does it do?" Bridge asked, with a vague sense of foreboding. _'Why does it feel like I've been here before?'_

"Well, I haven't actually been able to test it, of course. It was built for your genetic makeup alone. However, what it's _supposed_ to do is to rearrange your genetic structure. No, don't worry, I'm not going to turn you into a monster." Mora added, easily reading his horrified expression.

"You see, your powers are part of your genetic make-up. But they're incomplete, unstable. This machine will change you– _evolve_ you so that you can use the full potential of your powers."

"Why... why would you do this for me?"

Broodwing answered the question for her. "Because, as you are now, you can't defeat the other rangers. This will give you – give us – the advantage that we need."

"But what if it doesn't work?"

The mercenary looked downright pleased that he had asked. "It'll probably kill you – or damage you beyond all repair."

Bridge gulped. "And if I don't want to do it?"

"You don't have a choice, ranger." Gruumm's staff glowed menacingly. "Now, I grow tired of waiting. Get into the machine, or suffer my wrath."

* * *

Bridge looked at the machine, and then looked back at Gruumm. It was a difficult decision. On one hand, he would love to finally be able to control his powers. It was something he had struggled with his entire life, and to have the solution right in front of him was tempting indeed.

However, this was a Troobian machine, and Bridge was absolutely certain that he didn't want a group of evil aliens meddling with his genetic structure. They could change him in so many ways – change him until he was no longer himself, but a psychopathic monster. For all he knew the machine would destroy his mind, or unravel his DNA until he died.

He took a step forward, and nearly stumbled in shock. Suddenly, Bridge knew why this was so familiar – it was because he had seen it before, in a vision, and he knew what would happen next. There would be pain, and searing light.

Broodwing had turned away and was saying something to Gruumm, but then the bat grabbed his arm and pulled him forward. As if in a trance, Bridge obeyed and walked to the machine.

The door opened with a hiss, and Bridge stepped inside, feeling strangely disconnected from what was happening. Mora and Broodwing stood nearby, manipulating dials on a panel while Gruumm simply watched, his eyes narrowed. "It's ready." Broodwing announced.

"Turn it on." Gruumm commanded.

There was a soft click, and then the humming increased in pitch. Bridge pulled his hand to his sides as the metal itself began to glow. 'This is it.' He thought, with no small amount of fear.

There was nothing he could do. Bridge closed his eyes against the blinding green light, and braced himself for the inevitable pain.

* * *


	17. The Genetic Accelerator, Part 2

When the pain came, it hurt far more than he thought it would, more than he could have possibly imagined.

It felt like he was being torn into pieces, cut apart by a thousand knives. Distantly, Bridge could hear someone screaming, and realized that it was himself.

And worse, it didn't stop. Time had no meaning inside the genetic accelerator; his torture could have lasted seconds, hours, or even days. It continued until Bridge thought he would go mad, or die from the pain.

When the humming of the machine stopped, and the searing light faded away, the pain still remained. Bridge lay slumped against the wall of the device, his legs too weak to hold him.

He heard the door open, and felt rough hands drag him out, unceremoniously depositing him in the floor. For a while, Bridge simply lay there with his eyes closed, struggling to catch his breath.

"Did it work?" Gruumm asked, sounding a little annoyed.

Broodwing prodded him with a foot, prompting a pained groan from Bridge. "It seems so. Get up, ranger." Unable to obey, Bridge rolled onto his side and curled up into a fetal position, shaking like a leaf.

"What's wrong with him?" Mora asked, her voice shrill.

"I don't know," Broodwing replied. Their voices kept fading in and out, and Bridge struggled to remain conscious. He blacked out for a while, but when he woke they were still discussing him.

"Well, we can't send him back like this," Mora was saying. "And if he stays here too long, the other Rangers will begin to wonder where he's gone."

"It's still night in Newtech City," Broodwing replied. "Leave him with me, and I will make sure he returns to SPD safely."

Bridge wanted to protest, but he didn't have the strength. He felt Broodwing come to stand over him, and then the bat lifted him in his arms.

Gruumm said something he didn't catch, and then the unlikely pair teleported away.

* * *

As they flew, Bridge felt strength returning to his body. The pain slowly faded away, only to be replaced by a numbing fatigue. "Where are you taking me?" Bridge asked tiredly, finally finding his voice.

"In little while," Broodwing replied, "I will return you to SPD. But first, we have business to discuss."

Broodwing set him down in front of what looked like a warehouse. Bridge leaned against the wall for support as Broodwing keyed in the password for the door.

He looked up a moment later to see Broodwing staring at him. The bat chuckled darkly at the apprehensive look on Bridge's face. "I'm not going to kill you, ranger. Not yet, at least."

Keeping a wary eye on Broodwing, Bridge staggered into the warehouse and collapsed on the nearest chair. "What do you want, Broodwing? I already told you that I wouldn't help you against Gruumm, or against anyone else, for that matter."

"I thought you were smarter than this, Ranger," Broodwing replied. "Haven't you realized the truth yet? Gruumm will destroy this world, no matter what you do."

"But Gruumm wouldn't need to destroy the Earth if the rangers were gone," Bridge countered. "If there's even the tiniest chance of saving the Earth, I have to take it."

Broodwing laughed hollowly. "Gruumm has destroyed hundreds of worlds for entertainment alone. But you see, I'm different from Gruumm. This planet is more valuable to me in one piece, with it's inhabitants alive."

"So, I'll give you one more chance. Join me, and together we can defeat Gruumm and Mora. And I will spare your pathetic planet... in the name of profit."

His first instinct was to refuse outright. However, after a few moments of careful thought, Bridge came to an important realization. 'I can probably trust Broodwing's greed more than Gruumm's word,' he considered. 'Broodwing may be sneaky and treacherous, but two can play at that game.'

"I'll help you," Bridge said. "But on one condition."

"You're not in any position to make demands." Broodwing warned dangerously.

"And _you_ can't defeat Gruumm without my help." Bridge countered, glaring at the mercenary.

"Hmph," Broodwing said, with a rare hint of respect. "You're getting better at this treachery game, Ranger." He crossed his arms. "Let's hear this condition."

The next words were harder than he expected. "I... I know that Sky, I mean, the blue ranger, has to die." Bridge forced himself to continue. "I won't ask you to spare him, because I know you won't. But in the end, during the final battle, nobody fights him."

"Nobody but me."

* * *

Since long before aliens were common on Earth, Piggy had eked out a living digging through the dumpsters of Newtech city. "One being's trash is another being's treasure," Piggy said gleefully, pulling a particularly decomposed piece of meat out of the dumpster. "Now, this looks tasty!"

He took a long sniff, and put the meat in his bag. It would make a tasty meal, for those aliens with more refined tastes. Rummaging around a bit longer, he pulled a spatula from the trash. 'I can use this at the restaurant,' Piggy thought, stashing it away.

It was then he heard a noise from nearby.

Jumping out of the dumpster, he stealthily peeked around the corner, just in time to see Broodwing arrive with... was that the SPD green ranger?

'Impossible!' Piggy ducked back behind the dumpster. 'No way!'

'What am I going to do?' Piggy thought, beginning to feel a little scared. 'Oh, I'm way over my head this time.' He put his head in his hands. 'What am I going to do? I can't tell the rangers... I mean, it's none of my business, and Broodwing... Broodwing will kill me.'

'Why does this always happen to me?' Piggy lamented. 'I was just digging through the trash, minding my own business, and look what happens.'

'Well, I won't tell anyone. They didn't see me, and I never saw them.' He decided, quietly backing away from the unlikely pair. Sometimes, it was best to mind one's own business – especially when his own life was on the line.

* * *

"This is as close as I can get to SPD," Broodwing said, setting him down in an empty alleyway. "You'll have to make your own way back from here."

Bridge looked up at the looming structure of SPD. A few stars remained, but the sky was already beginning to brighten. He'd have to walk quickly, if he wanted to return before dawn.

'My powers are limited – I can't see far enough into the future to know how everything ends. But I don't think things will turn out quite the way you want, Broodwing,' Bridge thought, turning away from the mercenary.

'I can feel it.'

* * *


	18. Rotten Eggs With A Side of Treason

The voice came from far away.

"Wake up!" Someone was shaking him roughly, rousing Bridge from a deep sleep. "Bridge, you have to get up. We have a training session with Cruger this morning. Wake up!"

Another shake.

"Just because you stay out all night doesn't mean that you can get out of training." Sky grabbed a handful of blanket and pulled. "Get up!"

Bridge groaned, and rolled over to face his roommate.

"Are you sick? What's wrong with you?"

"I... I don't feel very well," Bridge managed, opening his eyes a crack. And it was true. Not even the Troobians knew what the effects of Mora's machine would be, and Bridge felt far worse than he had last night.

"Maybe you should go to the infirmary, " Sky suggested. "But you better make up your mind quickly, since we have a training session in..." he looked at his watch. "Fifteen minutes."

"No, I'm... I'm okay. I'll change, and then we'll go," Bridge said, sitting up with a wince.

"Are you sure?" Sky asked. He had seen Bridge injured and even sick many times before, but this time he seemed somehow... different. "I'm not sure this is such a good idea."

"I'm fine," Bridge replied, shrugging on his uniform. "Let's go." He walked through the door, a little unsteadily, with Sky following close behind him.

* * *

For some reason, Piggy couldn't stop his hands from shaking. Another rotten egg flopped out of his spatula, falling in the crack between the stove and the counter.

"Where's my food?" An irate customer growled, pounding his hands down on the counter. The salt and pepper shakers fell over, and rolled away. "Look, here's your money," Piggy snapped, shoving it back over the counter. "Take it. We're closed today." He slammed the door to the trailer shut.

A few moments later, three quick knocks came on the door. "We're closed!" Piggy shouted shrilly. "Can't you read the sign?"

The banging continued. "Open up! Emperor Gruumm wants to see you!" Piggy opened the door a crack, only to have a very large and very intimidating monster shove it open all the way, knocking him backwards.

"Who are you?" Piggy asked, nervously eying the monster's sharp claws.

"I am Invisor, and I serve Mora and her master, Emperor Gruumm. You are the alien called Piggy." The monster pulled him to his feet. "Emperor Gruumm wants to talk to you, and he doesn't like to be kept waiting."

* * *

A cool breeze drifted across the grounds of SPD headquarters. Sky ignored the rustling of the trees, and concentrated his posture, raising his sword into an offensive position.

He took a deep breath, centering himself. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Bridge mimic his movements and, on an unspoken signal, both rangers attacked.

Steel met steel as Cruger parried and blocked. Quickly spinning around, the commander disarmed Bridge in one quick move. His sword impaled itself into the grass a short distance away, and Sky continued his attack, trading blows until a misstep sent Sky's sword flying as well.

"Good," Cruger said. "Try it again. This time, think of the sword as an extension of yourself. You need to concentrate more on your movements, and less on the sword itself."

Bridge reached for his sword, but before he could touch it, a strange energy arched the distance. The sword began to glow green and shake, the energy traveling outwards from the hilt. Pulling itself free of the ground, the weapon flew into his waiting hands.

Bridge panicked and dropped the sword. 'Did I do that?' Bridge looked at his gloved hands, and then back at Cruger and Sky, who were both staring at him.

Cruger walked over and carefully picked up Bridge's sword, examining it closely. It looked to be just an ordinary sword, with no sign of what had happened before. "Bridge, what happened?"

"I don't know. I mean, it's never happened before, at least not that I remember," Bridge said, trying to think up a coherent excuse. He certainly couldn't tell them the truth, that his powers had been altered by an experimental Troobian machine!

"Maybe it's because you're sick," Sky suggested, inadvertently giving Bridge a way out.

Cruger took a careful look at the ranger in front of him. Bridge's reaction times had been slower than usual, but Cruger had attributed that to fatigue. "How long have you been sick?"

"Just since this morning," Bridge said. "But I'm sure it's nothing really, maybe just a cold or some sort of flu, not like an alien flu, just the normal kind..."

"Nevertheless, cadet, if you feel ill you should go to the infirmary. You are dismissed from this morning's training exercise. I expect you to go straight to the infirmary, is that understood?"

"Yes, sir."

* * *

"Let's continue," Cruger said, making a mental note to talk to Kat later. Illness was one thing, but suddenly developing telekinetic powers was a completely different thing.

Sky nodded and slowly picked up his sword, a conflicted expression on his face.

"Is there something you'd like to tell me, Sky?" Cruger finally asked.

"Bridge has been acting really strange recently," Sky explained hesitantly. "I don't really know what to think."

Cruger blinked, hiding his surprise. He knew how close Sky and Bridge were. For Sky to mention that there were issues between the two, meant that things were serious indeed. "Do you think he's a danger to himself or the team?"

"Yes... no... I don't know," Sky said, and shook his head. "It's just a feeling."

Cruger studied Sky for far longer than was comfortable. "Stress can make people act in strange ways. You're his teammate, and his friend. Try to help him as much as you can, but keep a close eye on him. If anything else comes up, tell me."

Sky nodded, and raised his sword once more.

* * *

From Piggy's current position on the floor, Gruumm's throne was even larger and more intimidating than usual. Not to mention the warlord himself, who was scowling and tapping his foot on the floor, his staff glowing menacingly. "Piggy," Gruumm said, "I've heard a great deal about you."

"And most of it hasn't been very good," Mora added, "so you'd better be nice." Her doll's head flopped forward, and Piggy noticed that it was ragged and missing a button eye. "Do you like my doll? Her name is Cindy." Mora gave Piggy a malicious smile."She used to have two eyes, but she didn't always do what I told her to. She was stubborn, and didn't listen very well. Now she only has one."

Piggy gulped, and tried his best to look innocent. "I'm just a simple restaurant owner, I..." Gruumm nodded towards Invisor, and the monster effortlessly picked him up, shaking him roughly. "Ouch!"

"I hear you've been talking to Broodwing. What is he planning?" Gruumm demanded, scowling at his captive.

"I'm kind of a public figure. I... I speak to lots of people!"

"Maybe some time in my prison will loosen your tongue. Take him away!"

"Wait, no, you don't understand!" Piggy begged, as the monster dragged him from the throne room.

Mora gave her sweetest smile. "Maybe if you told us what you knew about Broodwing, then we'd understand."

"Uh..." Piggy hesitated. "Broodwing likes rotten egg sandwiches?"

"Take him out of my sight!" Gruumm rumbled angrily. The bones on his armor rattled as the Emperor of the Troobians got to his feet, a murderous look on his face.

After that, Piggy was more than happy to allow Invisor to lead him from the room. Who would have known that Gruumm would take a simple joke so badly?

Piggy shrugged. Some people just had no sense of humor.

* * *

"Well, I can't find anything wrong with you, besides a slightly elevated pulse and blood pressure." The doctor gave Bridge a reassuring smile, which he half-heartedly returned.

"May I?" Kat asked, coming to stand next to the bed.

"Certainly, Dr. Manx," The doctor replied, handing the instruments over to Kat. Closing the curtains around the bed, she left the room, the door closing behind her.

Once they were alone, Kat spoke again. "Doggie told me what happened earlier. I didn't think that telekinesis was one of your powers: have you ever been able to move things with your mind before?"

Bridge shook his head. "I think that it's a new power, because I've never had it happen before. I mean, weird things happen when I'm not wearing gloves, but I was wearing them that time and it still happened."

"Can you show me?" Kat pointed at an empty glass on the bedside table. "Try to move that."

Bridge stretched out his hand and concentrated, closing his eyes.

Nothing happened.

No green energy, no movement. The glass stayed perfectly still. Bridge turned back to Kat with an apologetic shrug. "I can't get it to work anymore. I'm not really sure how I did it the first time, either."

"That's okay. We'll try again later," said Kat. "Has anything else happened lately with your powers?"

"Yes," Bridge admitted. "They've been harder to control, and sometimes I get visions..."

"Visions?" Kat interrupted, slightly alarmed. "Of what?"

"Things that might happen, maybe," Bridge said, mixing truth with the lies. "They're usually small things like, I don't know, what someone is going to eat for lunch or where they're going to go on vacation."

"I'd have to run some further tests in my labs, but it sounds like your powers might be evolving," Kat replied thoughtfully. "I'll need a blood sample to be sure."

"Oh, okay," Bridge said, and internally cringed. He had never completely gotten over his childhood fear of needles, and looked away as she drew blood from one of his veins, and carefully labeled the sample with his name and date of birth. "Try to take it easy the next few days, okay?"

Bridge nodded. That was easier said than done.

* * *

Bridge was bored. Cruger had dismissed him from all training and exercises for the day, leaving him with very little to do. There weren't even any monster attacks – the city had been quiet lately, and he suspected that Gruumm was preparing for a final assault on SPD which, judging by the last few days, Bridge was meant to play a major part in.

Bridge forced himself to relax and to think of other things. There was nothing he could do about it right now, so there was no point worrying about things that might happen in the future.

"Psst!"

Bridge heard a muffled noise, and looked around for the source.

The noise came again, and it took him a few seconds to realize that it was coming from his datapad, which was laying face-down on the floor. Bridge cautiously walked over and picked it up. He immediately wished that he hadn't. "Broodwing! What do you want?"

"You've made a serious mistake, green ranger," The bat said with a knowing smirk. "My informants within SPD tell me that you gave the scientist Kat Manx a sample of your blood."

'News travels fast.' Bridge thought, and suddenly realized that Broodwing must have spies within the science department. He'd have to be more careful from now on. "Yes, I did. So what?"

"You really are as dumb as you look," Broodwing said condescendingly. "The Genetic Accelerator altered you on a genetic level, and tests on your blood will show that."

"Then I'll just tell them that it happened all on its own," Bridge countered. After all, not even Kat was an expert on mutant DNA – anything was possible when you were dealing with superpowers, after all.

"And maybe they'll believe you," Broodwing said. "Or maybe they'll decide that you're not actually you at all, and instead a replacement, an imperfect copy," he smiled wickedly. "Didn't think of that, did you?"

Bridge hadn't thought of that, but he wasn't about to admit it to Broodwing. "Well, there's nothing I can do about it - I mean, that sample is probably in secure storage by now. Why are you telling me this, anyhow?"

"Why did I tell you?" The mercenary looked almost affronted. "We're partners, and partners do things for each other. Now it's time for you to do something for me. You see, you're going to help me dispose of a turncoat. He's become a liability to my plans, and must be eliminated."

Bridge's mind was racing with the possibilities. "Does this person work at SPD?"

"No, of course not," The bat said scornfully. "Don't worry, he's not even human. He's an alien, a sneak and a coward."

"I believe you know him as Piggy."

* * *


	19. The Second Assignment

Supreme Commander Fowler Birdie straightened a stack of loose papers on his desk. Putting them aside, he picked up the top note in the stack, giving it a cursory glance.

'Ah, yes. The Earth situation'.

It was clear that Commander Cruger was incapable of even securing his own command – weeks had passed, and still there were no leads, no results.

Someone had sabotaged the Delta Squad Megazord and infiltrated the base computers, and all indications were that they had escaped scot-free.

There had to be consequences for such things. Someone had to be held accountable. How would it look that Space Patrol Delta, the sworn protectors of the galaxy, had allowed such a thing to happen under their watch?

If this information was leaked to the public, the scandal could cost him his reputation, his very career. Fowler picked up his desk phone and hesitated only a moment before dialing the private number of Commander Anubis Doggie Cruger.

* * *

Boom stared at the page in front of him. The text swam, then swirled and then seemed to form little patterns on the paper. An ominous, growling noise came from his stomach, earning him a nasty glare from one of the lab assistants.

The doors swung open, and Boom did his best to look busy. Kat, usually an icon of patience, had been on edge lately, and he _definitely_ didn't want to get on her bad side – 147 years was plenty of time to learn a thing or two about revenge.

Sneaking a glance at the newcomer, Boom sighed in relief. "Hey, Bridge." The grumpy assistant was still giving him the evil eye, and so Boom gathered his things and got to his feet. "Do you want to go to dinner or something?"

"Sure," Bridge said, but his attention was immediately drawn to a complex looking project, with several vials of chemicals carefully arranged on a table. "What's this?"

"Oh, that?" It took Boom a moment to remember. "Dr. Keppel is analyzing some mineral samples from an asteroid... Interamnia 702, I think."

"Isn't that the asteroid which they mine Sarconium from, the one which had that accident in 2015?"

"Yes, that's the one. Sarconium is... um... unstable when mixed with certain chemicals." Boom looked up, puzzled. "Why?"

Bridge shrugged. "No reason, really. Are you ready to go?"

* * *

Jack was walking down the hallway when he saw something very strange.

Bridge and Boom were walking down the corridor, talking animatedly to each other. Sky, who was usually so directed and goal-driven, was staring after them, seemingly lost in thought. "Hey," Jack said, clapping Sky on the shoulder. "What's up?"

Sky jumped in surprise. It was slight, so subtle that only someone who knew him well would notice it. "Jack. I didn't see you," Sky said. "I was just... wait, what?"

Jack repeated himself, and watched Sky's expression shift from confused to guarded in an instant. "I don't know," the blue ranger said. "Why?"

"Well, I heard some things and came to find out what's really going on."

Sky felt a sudden, intense stab of anger. "Heard from who?"

"Nobody, really." Jack silently berated himself and wished he had never brought it up. Sky hated gossip almost as much as he hated criminals and could hold a grudge longer than anyone.

"It was Syd, wasn't it?" He should have known better – Syd was an excellent Ranger, but she was never very good at keeping secrets, especially about other people. "Nothing's wrong," Sky said. "Syd just needs to learn to mind her own business."

"We're a team," Jack replied, "If something's wrong, it's all of our business."

Sky shook his head. "Not this time."

* * *

Piggy had stayed in many unpleasant places in his life. He'd seen his share of prisons, both SPD and otherwise, and out of all of those, Gruumm's dungeon rated somewhere between that holding cell on Alandria and the tiny cargo hold in which he'd arrived on Earth. In other words, it wouldn't be half bad... if it wasn't for the company.

"You really need to lighten up, guys. Can't we just all get along?" Piggy asked. The krybots guarding his cage said nothing, only shook their weapons threateningly. "Anyhow, I know this really good joke," he continued, not discouraged in the slightest. "So a krybot, a Power Ranger and a monkey walk into a bar..."

The krybots didn't laugh. In fact, they didn't so much as twitch. Piggy sighed. Cyborgs these days just had no sense of humor.

* * *

It was chicken and rice day in the cafeteria. Not that Bridge didn't like chicken and rice, although toast and chicken would have been far better. He just wasn't that hungry... and hadn't been for quite a while. Recently, he just couldn't bring himself to care about things like that.

"It's weird, you know." Boom said suddenly, interrupting Bridge's thoughts. He stared at the table, and fidgeted nervously. "I mean, lately, you've been different. You're quiet all the time and... I don't know. Something's changed."

"Sorry," Bridge said, "I've just been thinking a lot lately. About all kinds of things, but mostly about SPD and everyone here."I just..." Bridge shook his head and lapsed into silence, unable to continue.

"It's okay," Boom said awkwardly. "Really. I understand; You're a Power Ranger, so I'm sure you have loads of things to worry about. But If you ever need someone to talk to..."

"Thanks," Bridge replied, with an intense pang of guilt. These were his friends and he had betrayed them, promised to destroy them... 'But I didn't have a choice,' Bridge reminded himself. 'Gruumm would have destroyed the Earth if I hadn't.'

"Anyhow, I... I'd better go," he finally said. Sliding his tray down the disposal chute, Bridge ignored the worried look Boom gave him and left the cafeteria. He was on his way back to the dorms when hear a soft buzzing noise in his ears, followed by a familiar voice.

'Ranger...'

Bridge quickly looked around, making sure no one was in hearing distance. "What do you want, Gruumm? _"_

" _Emperor_ Gruumm," the Troobian corrected, but Bridge ignored him. Gruumm would never be his emperor, no matter what happened. "I am very pleased with the information you sent us," Gruumm continued, "but for our plan to succeed, we need something else... something more."

"Like what?" Bridge asked, already dreading the answer.

"The scientist you call Kat has been developing an upgrade to the Ranger suits," Gruumm said, "Broodwing tells us that it exists, and is called the SWAT upgrade. You're going to steal it, and erase the data from the mainframe."

* * *

'Maybe Syd's right,' Jack thought. 'Maybe something really _is_ going on with Sky.' He'd tried to talk himself out of it, telling himself that it was only his imagination and natural paranoia at work. However, that same paranoia had saved his life several times on the streets, and he knew better than to ignore it now.

And so he watched Sky. Jack watched him in the rec room and on the training grounds. He noticed how Sky watched everyone, as if waiting for something to happen.

Sky was distracted; curt to the point of being rude, even. He was defensive and secretive, even more so than usual. In fact, Sky hadn't been so tense, so openly hostile since... well, since he had first joined the squad!

Even worse, it looked like Bridge was in on it, too. If Sky was overly secretive, Bridge seemed to be avoiding everyone, himself included. In fact, he rarely saw Bridge anymore, except at training sessions, or if there was some sort of emergency.

'They know something, and I'm going to find out what it is,' Jack thought. He was red ranger, which meant that he was supposed to be in charge – why did it always feel like he was left out of the loop?

Jack got to his feet, and went to look for Bridge.

* * *

Bridge wasn't sure whether sabotage, like everything else, was just easier the second time. Or maybe he was just more reckless, and cared less for his own fate.

'Gruumm wants me to steal the SWAT upgrade,' Bridge reasoned. Rigorous scientific training had taught him to think through problems in steps, to divide them into little, easily analyzed pieces. 'I can't break into Kat's labs again. They're too closely watched, especially now.'

'But there are only a few computers that would have access to that information.' Anything about the SPD upgrades would be highly classified... if it even existed. Bridge had his doubts – Broodwing was hardly a reliable source of information. On the other hand, he doubted the bat would do anything to antagonize Gruumm, particularly now.

"Well," Bridge thought, "there's the computers in the command center."

That was out of the question. The command center was never empty and besides, it was under constant surveillance. Which left only one option, an option so bold and unexpected it might actually work.

* * *


	20. The SWAT Upgrade

Bridge walked the hallways in a carefully calculated route, every few minutes passing by Kat's lab. One by one, he watched as the science staff left, heading home to their families or maybe, in a few cases, an empty apartment.

Not for the first time, Bridge envied them a little bit. True, they weren't power rangers – but whatever happened, they could leave it all behind at the end of the day.

He saw Boom leave and, a few minutes later, Kat left as well. Bridge took a deep breath, and entered the room. Walking past a counter, he pocketed a small beaker of glowing green chemicals.

There was still two assistants in the lab, working late on their projects. The first ignored him completely, absorbed in her work. The second, however, looked up and greeted him. "Hey, Bridge. Do you need something?"

Bridge tried not to fidget nervously. "No, I was just looking for Boom." On the table to his left, he could see Dr. Keppel's experiment laid out on a table, with the asteroid fragment suspended in a vial of clear liquid. Waiting until the lab assistant looked away, Bridge slipped the green chemicals into the vial.

"Sorry, he just left," the scientist said.

"It's... it's okay," Bridge replied, before backing out the door. "I'll come back later." As soon as he turned the corner he started to run.

* * *

Even those who couldn't hear the explosion felt it – a single moment when the base itself seemed to tremble. Some, like Sky, were close enough to see the brilliant flash of light and heat. "Are you okay?" He asked, helping a scientist to her feet.

"That... that came from the lab," she managed breathlessly. "I have to go... they might need my help!"

"No," Sky said. "It could be dangerous; you should stay here. Find somewhere safe – I'll go help." Ignoring her protests, he carefully picked his way through the glass and debris scattered across the hallway. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a figure in a green-trimmed uniform slip down a side corridor, running in the opposite direction.

'Was that... Bridge?' Sky wondered. It was impossible to tell from this distance, but it **could** have been the green ranger. Leaving the wreckage of Kat's lab behind, he turned and began to follow.

* * *

Jack had just left the cadet dorms when he heard the alarm. A moment later, the hallways were full of confused and frightened cadets, and every one of them expected Jack to have all the answers.

"I don't know what's going on," he repeated for the tenth time, squeezing his way past a group of first-year cadets. Hurrying down the main corridor, he followed the throng of people headed towards the science lab. Catching a glimpse of Sky, he called out, stopping the blue ranger in his tracks. "Sky, what's going on?"

"There's been some sort of explosion in Kat's lab." Sky craned his neck to look over Jack's shoulder. Jack turned around to look, but saw nothing out of the ordinary. "Let's go then," Jack said, a little confused.

Sky hesitated for a split-second, so briefly that Jack almost thought he imagined it. Then they both headed towards the lab, Sky trailing a few paces behind. It was only later that Jack realized that Sky had been running the **opposite** direction from the explosion.

* * *

The hallways were empty as Bridge approached Cruger's office - everyone, security included, had gone to investigate the commotion. Peeking around the corner, Bridge caught a glimpse of a camera.

Taking off his glove, he concentrated on the camera. Waiting until it turned away, he reached out. This time, the energy came on demand, green lightning arching across the distance. The camera sparked and stopped immediately, and Bridge could smell smoke, rising from the blackened lens.

Looking around one last time to make sure no one was nearby, Bridge entered Cruger's office. The doors were unlocked, and a few papers were scattered across the desk. He could sense the commander's presence – almost as strongly as if Cruger was actually there.

Bridge sat down in the single, oddly-shaped chair and looked around. The office itself was strangely empty; there were no pictures, only several awards and a large SPD logo on the wall. The furnishings consisted of a single shelf, a desk and a chair.

If he hadn't known better, he would have thought that Cruger had just moved into this office. 'Maybe he never unpacked,' Bridge thought. It seemed unlikely – Cruger had been on Earth for decades. 'Maybe he didn't have anything to unpack. Or maybe he plans to leave as soon as Gruumm is defeated.'

Either way, he didn't have time to worry about it. Bridge reached across the desk and turned on the computer. 'Sorry, Boom,' he thought, typing in the assistant's password.

"Identity confirmed. Clearance 3."

Typing a few more lines of code, Bridge pressed enter and held his breath.

"Identity confirmed. Clearance 1. Welcome, Commander. "

* * *

For once, Broodwing had actually told him the truth – the SWAT upgrades did exist and, not only that, there was an entire folder of information about them stored on Cruger's computer. Bridge reached into his pocket for a datapad, but only found a crumpled piece of paper.

'I must have forgotten it back in the dorms.' Bridge realized, dismayed. But he had already come too far to abort the mission. Maybe Kat would be able to trace him – he'd have to live with that possibility.

Removing his badge, Bridge synchronized it with the computer. The transfer seemed to go faster this time, but Bridge stayed alert for any noise or flicker of an aura: being caught stealing from Cruger's office would probably be a one-way ticket to KO-35's prison moon.

"80%..."

"95%..."

"100%... transfer complete," said the computer.

'Gruumm told me to delete these files,' Bridge thought, 'but he didn't say I couldn't look at them first.' Opening up the first document, he began to read. Skimming over the text, he opened the next file. It was a blueprint, detailing the design of the SWAT upgrades.

'Without these, SPD won't stand a chance,' he realized. His finger hovered over the delete button, before drifting away. 'No,' Bridge thought. 'I won't do it. Maybe... maybe if I die, the Rangers can use these to defeat Gruumm.'

He pinned his badge back to his chest. It was warm to the touch and, in the dim light of Cruger's office, seemed to be glowing slightly. The information on the SWAT upgrade was probably already at Gruumm's ship, where Mora and Brooding would be waiting to sort through the data.

Shutting down the computer, he quickly left the office, closing the door behind him.

* * *

It took several hours for Kat to bring Cruger the damage report, three hours spent running between the infirmary and the lab, supervising the fire and clean-up teams, and making sure everyone was safe and accounted for.

"The main science lab has sustained serious damage," Kat reported. "It will take several weeks to repair. Two of my researchers were injured, both seriously. We were lucky that there weren't more people there."

"Could it have been an accident?"

Kat hesitated. "It's not impossible. The labs are full of dangerous chemicals and substances. I trust my staff, but someone could have made a mistake. However, we've had far too many of these coincidences."

Cruger growled under his breath. For once, Fowler was right; something had to be done, and it had to happen before anyone else got hurt. "I want to know exactly what they were after." He turned to leave the command center. "Tell me as soon as you know."

* * *

Jack waited at the lab until the clean-up crews arrived, and people in suits began picking through the debris. He offered to help, but Kat practically ordered him away, and so he went looking for Z.

He found her in the dorms, sitting at her desk. "I wasn't sure what I should be doing so I came back here," she said. "I feel like I should help, but I don't know how."

"Kat seemed like she had everything under control," Jack said. "I'm sure that Cruger will call us eventually." He thought for a moment about how to phrase his next question. "Hey, Z? Have you noticed anything weird recently?"

"Like what?"

"Like... about Sky?"

Z hesitated. "Why?"

"Well," Jack began. "Syd mentioned something to me, so I went to talk to Sky about it, and he just brushed me off. Which is pretty normal for him, I guess. But what really bothered me was that, today, after the explosion, I saw him running away from the labs. I mean, why didn't he run towards them, like everyone else?"

"Maybe he was trying to get help, or something," Z said. "I'm sure there are lots of reasons why he would have done that."

"Maybe," Jack said, unconvinced.

"Do you remember, a few days ago, when you came into the room and Sky and me were arguing?" Z said eventually.

Jack did, vaguely, remember it. "Yeah. You never told me what it was about, though."

"I caught him looking over some files... really classified stuff, information on people who worked at SPD," Z said. "He said he was investigating what happened to the megazord, and that he was on a special assignment from Cruger."

"Do you believe him?"

Z suddenly looked very serious. "I don't know."

* * *

The waiting room in the infirmary was full of worried people – friends, family and co-workers of the injured scientists. The only one who Sky noticed, however, was Bridge, who was standing slightly apart from the crowds, looking concerned and little uncertain.

Sky studied him further. The green ranger seemed a little shaky and his cheeks were flushed, like he'd been running.

"Hi, Sky," Bridge said, finally noticing him. He gestured towards the closed infirmary doors. "I hope they'll be okay. I dropped by to see... I don't know them very well, I mean, I'm not close friends with them or anything, but I spend a lot of time in the labs so I know most of the people there."

"Yeah," Sky said. "Where are you heading now?"

"I don't know. Haven't figured it out yet. Maybe I'll go to the rec room – do you want to come?"

Sky shook his head. "I promised to help train one of the C-squad cadets. If she remembers," he added belatedly. That particular cadet, although competent, could be a little scatter-brained. But she was innocent, thoughtful and guileless – in fact, she sometimes reminded him of Bridge, the way Bridge used to be...

"Hey, Bridge?" Sky asked. "Where were you earlier?"

"Um..." Bridge fumbled for a little bit. "Well, first I got up and made some toast, and then I went to the..."

Sky shook his head. "No, not that early. I mean, just now. When the lab exploded."

"I didn't even hear it. I came after a cadet told me about it... I was on the other side of the base."

Sky frowned. "I could have sworn I saw you there..."

"No," Bridge said. "You must've seen someone else."

* * *

Mora put a tiny plate down on the table and then, moving towards Cindy, placed another. The plates were followed by matching teacups and napkins until, finally satisfied, Mora sat down and poured a cup of tea.

Stirring in several squares of sugar, the pictomancer sipped her tea and watched the krybots pass in front of her playroom. First there was an orange one, and then a blue one. A few ordinary krybots walked by, followed by Broodwing. The bat was angry about something – Mora was sure of that. One of his many schemes was probably not going as planned, and now he was sulking.

Mora smiled sweetly. "Broodwing, do you want to have tea with me and Cindy?"

"I'm too busy to play with little girls," Brooding huffed and hurried away, his cape swirling behind him.

She watched him leave and took another sip of tea. "Grown-ups think they know everything," Mora said, turning to Cindy. "Especially Gruumm. He thinks because he's emperor that he's always right."

She put the cup down. "But he doesn't know about Broodwing, does he? Broodwing's sneaky. Sneakier than Gruumm thinks. I know he's up to something."

"Gruumm won't listen to me," Mora pouted. "He wants to do it all on his own." She picked Cindy off the chair and stared at the doll thoughtfully. "Maybe I should let him." Cindy's head flopped backwards, her remaining eye staring at the ceiling.

"You think so too?" Mora said. "Okay, then I won't help him at all." She looked back out on the hallway, where the receding figure of Broodwing could still be seen. A safe distance behind him, a pair of krybots followed the bat, watching his every move. "Well," Mora admitted. "Maybe just a little."

* * *

Jack paced across his room, from one end to the other. He bit his lip anxiously, plagued by doubts. It wasn't logical. It wasn't even fair. It was incredibly unlikely; in fact, the idea sounded ludicrous. But maybe Z was onto something. Maybe... could Sky be the traitor?

'No,' Jack thought. 'He has the skills, and access to all the required areas. But he has no motive.'

"Sky would never do anything to harm SPD," he said out loud, trying to convince himself. However, the thought had been inserted into his head, and wouldn't go away so quickly.

'I should at least talk to him about it,' Jack reasoned. Maybe Sky would have an explanation, some reason for his behavior. Walking into the corridor, he knocked on Sky's door.

"Come in," Sky said.

Jack entered the room, and watched as Sky searched his desk. Eventually producing a clipboard, the blue ranger turned to face him. "Jack, I'm kind of in a hurry..."

"I have just one question," Jack said. "Earlier, when Kat's lab exploded, where were you going?"

"Nowhere. To the lab, of course."

"No, **I** was going to the lab. You were going the other direction," Jack pressed. "Where were you going?"

"I don't have time for this, Jack." Sky tried to leave, but Jack moved to block the door. He didn't mean to say it, but the words slipped out before he could stop them. "Why, because you blew up the lab?"

Sky looked at him disdainfully. "First of all, I'm not the spy. Second of all, you don't have any proof either way. So if you have something to say, Jack, then bring it up with Cruger."

* * *


	21. Choices and Decisions

Sometimes, Cruger felt like his job consisted of arranging the pieces of a large and impossibly complex puzzle. There were a thousand clues, a thousand pieces of information. And he had to put it all together, no matter how many pieces were missing.

"I have the report on the lab accident," Kat said, entering his office. Cruger sat up a little straighter. Whatever she found must be important; Kat almost never asked to speak to him privately. "The explosion was a diversion. Around the same time, the camera outside of your office was disabled. I also checked your computer – someone has hacked into it to steal important files."

"Which files?"

"Everything on the SWAT upgrades."

Cruger growled under his breath. That information was undoubtedly in Troobian hands by now; so much for _that_ secret weapon! "We should modify the SWAT upgrades," Cruger decided. "There's still a chance that we can add something and take them by surprise."

It all depended on how much time they had left. Cruger would bet his Shadow Saber that Gruumm was planning something big, and the Troobian was nearly ready to make his move.

"Most of my equipment was damaged in the lab explosion, but I'll see what I can do," Kat said. "If possible, I'd like to borrow Sophie as well."

"Take whatever you need. This project is to have the highest importance."

Kat hesitated. "Doggie, there's something else."

* * *

Even in the most isolated corner of the Troobian spaceship, Broodwing could neatly place Mora in her playroom. For some reason, her pointless chatter seemed to penetrate through the walls, following Broodwing everywhere he went.

Broodwing had risked death and imprisonment many times – all in the name of profit, of course! At the moment, however, he would rather fight down the entire ranger team than deal with Mora. The pint-sized menace was currently playing house with a small army of krybots, and a very particular bat was supposed to play the "baby".

Which was why Broodwing was lurking in the shadows of an empty storage room, at the far end of the ship. A troop of krybots passed his hiding place before continuing onwards, and Broodwing could hear another one on the level below.

Broodwing waited until he heard the soft, ever-present hum of the engine increase in pitch, signaling that the teleporter was in use. Leaving his hiding place, he quickly made his way to the teleporter room. "You're here," Broodwing observed, eyeing the newcomer. "That's quite risky, considering how things are at SPD."

Bridge shrugged. "Mora called me. I had to come."

"Yes, I know," Broodwing said. "You're good at doing things for Mora and Gruumm but now it's time you did something for me. Piggy is here, in one of the prison cells on the lower level. It would be suspicious if I… disposed… of him, which is where you come in."

"What do I get out of this? I don't have anything against Piggy."

"We had an agreement," Broodwing hissed. "If you don't want to hold up your end of the bargain, I might have to tell your friends at SPD about you."

"You wouldn't do that," Bridge said. "Gruumm would kill you for ruining his plans."

Bridge couldn't see it, but he knew that Broodwing was smiling. "Gruumm finds me useful, but he is also oblivious to the large part of what I do. If he found out, it would be a setback – but nothing compared to what your so-called friends would do to you."

Before Bridge could respond, Mora arrived. The pictomancer eyed them both suspiciously, before turning to Broodwing. "Don't you have somewhere to be?"

"I was just leaving," Broodwing said condescendingly. He swept from the room, but not before catching Bridge's eye. 'Don't even thing about disobeying me,' the bat seemed to say.

Bridge ignored him. "Why am I here?" he asked Mora. "Was there something wrong with the information I sent?"

Mora shook her head, and her pigtails flopped from side to side. "No, Gruumm just wanted to give you your next assignment in person. He really wants to talk to you. I mean, he wouldn't even let me play with you first." She brightened. "But that doesn't matter, because once you come back, you'll be able to play with me all the time."

Bridge wasn't sure he wanted to do that. "You know," he said, "I think they're onto me. They'll figure it out really soon."

"Oh, don't worry about that," Mora said. "You see, this will be your last assignment. Once you're done, no more sneaking around and no more SPD."

* * *

Sky liked things to be black and white.

There was good and there was evil, there was SPD and there was everything else. There were also the things he knew, and the things he didn't.

In the category of things he knew, Sky put the following facts. First, there was a spy somewhere within SPD. Cruger said it could be anyone, which meant that it could even be one of the rangers. He knew that sometimes, on nights like tonight, the green ranger would sneak from their room and return hours later, exhausted.

Bridge had also developed new powers, but didn't seem interested in practicing with them or even understanding where they came from. Bridge was always curious - why had that changed? It was almost like Bridge already knew the answer and choose not to tell anyone.

The green ranger seemed to be hiding a lot of things lately.

True, he didn't know where Bridge went at night. He didn't know why Bridge's powers were changing, or why he had suddenly become so secretive.

But Bridge would never betray his friends. Sky knew him better than that.

 _Didn't he?_

Sky lay in bed and wondered exactly when he had begun to suspect his closest friend of treason.

* * *

Cruger thought for a very long time before responding. "No, that's not possible. I don't believe he's capable of such a thing."

"I agree. He's being framed or somehow manipulated."

On one hand, this was the break they had been looking for. They finally had enough evidence to detain a suspect, which would appease Fowler and galactic headquarters. On the other hand, Kat was an excellent judge of character, and it went against everything Cruger believed in to imprison an innocent man.

But what if they were wrong? No matter what it took, Cruger couldn't let Earth meet the same fate as Sirius. "He may be innocent, but can we really take that chance?"

For once, Kat was at a loss for words. "You can't be considering…"

"I don't have a choice. It's for his safety, as well as ours."

* * *

Bridge knew the Troobian ship well enough to find his own way to the throne room, but Mora insisted on escorting him. She skipped along the passageway, always keeping a few feet ahead and talking the entire time, chattering about krybots and Cindy and tea and wouldn't he bring some toys from Earth for her, because she was getting so tired of the ones she had?

Mora's monologue trailed off as they reached the throne room. As Bridge entered the room, he noticed something strange. Gruumm seemed to be lost in thought, and several uncomfortable seconds passed before the warlord noticed Bridge and beckoned him closer.

"It's so close," Gruumm said. "I can almost taste it. Soon, SPD will fall and Earth will be mine. And Anubis "Doggie" Cruger will be at my mercy." The warlord looked at him."How does it feel, human? To know that you are responsible for the conquest of Earth?"

"Not so great, actually," Bridge said. "I betrayed my friends, the only family I had. But I couldn't watch Earth be destroyed either, so I guess I made the right choice, although…" Gruumm's eyes were beginning to glow angrily, so he trailed off.

"Why do you hate Commander Cruger so much?" Bridge asked bravely. "I mean, I know that you fought him before, but I bet you've fought lots of people, not just him, and you really seem to hate Cruger."

Bridge didn't really expect an answer, but Gruumm spoke again. "How much do you know about Sirius, ranger? I destroyed his world, but he took my horn. No one humiliates me and lives."

Bridge privately thought that Cruger had been punished enough. His planet had been destroyed and, if the rumors were correct, his wife had been killed during the battle. Now Cruger stood to lose everything once more.

Gruumm, however, was clearly finished reminiscing about the past. "Deep inside SPD is a crystal. This crystal allows SPD headquarters to transform into the command megazord. You're going to take it and bring it to me."

"That crystal is in the most heavily guarded part of SPD," Bridge objected. "There's no way I can steal it without getting caught."

"Didn't I tell you this was your last assignment?" Mora piped up. "If they catch you, you'll just have to fight your way out. Even _you_ should be able to handle that. When you leave SPD, you'll be teleported here."

"I'll do my best," Bridge said. After all, it wasn't like he had a choice.

"Of course you will," Mora said and smiled. "You'll do it, or you'll die trying."

* * *

Escaping his krybot escort was easy; the hard part was finding the correct room. The Troobian spaceship was a labyrinth of passageways and hidden doors, each made out of the same sinewy green material. Maybe the Troobians grew their ships instead of building them – he could always ask Mora, maybe she would know.

An orange-head krybot approached, and Bridge pressed himself against the wall, hiding in the shadows until it passed. Taking a winding set of stairs to the lower level, Bridge reached a doorway which opened into a large room.

At the far back of the room, Piggy was locked in a cage. Every once in a while, Piggy would pace from one side of his tiny prison to the other, looking anxiously at his two krybot guards.

Making sure the krybots couldn't see him, Bridge took off his gloves. Green lightning leapt between the guards and both krybots slumped to the ground, smoke rising from their bodies.

Using his new powers was becoming easier, almost second nature. Bridge tried not to think about it; after all, maybe the powers themselves were evil, and the more he used them the worse he'd become.

Inside the cage, Piggy got to his feet and backed away as far as he could. "You. You're here. And you're working with Broodwing… and the Troobians?"

Piggy shook his head in amazement. "Honestly, I didn't think you ranger types had it in you. I guess the whole justice and protecting the planet thing was just talk after all!" Oddly, Piggy felt a little disappointed.

"The protecting the planet part isn't just talk," Bridge said. "Although maybe the justice thing is. Anyhow, I'm here because Broodwing sent me to kill you."

"Oh," Piggy said ineloquently. What else could he say? "Well, you really, really, don't want to do that."

* * *


	22. More Important Than Friendship

Piggy was a coward. It wasn't the usual kind of cowardice, which came quickly and left just as fast. Piggy's cowardice was part of his personality, an ever present instinct for self-preservation.

"I – I know that I've caused lots of trouble," Piggy stammered, trying to look genuinely repentant, "and maybe I haven't been the best person around, but everyone makes mistakes, right?"

The ranger didn't seem convinced.

'This is it,' Piggy thought. 'I'm really done for this time.' He frantically looked around his prison, searching for something – anything - to defend himself with. Digging through his pockets, he pulled out a rotten, half-eaten apple.

'Why couldn't it have been a Torellian grenade, or one of those tiny teleport devices?' Piggy lamented, dropping the fruit on the floor.

Bridge drew his blaster and Piggy closed his eyes, too afraid to look. He could hear his heart beating in his ears and time slowed to a crawl. A very long second passed, and then another. Piggy opened one eye, sneaking a peek at his would-be assassin.

In his time, Piggy had met many criminals. He knew thieves and informants, smugglers and crooks. Many of those people would kill without a moment's hesitation. A moment ago, Piggy would have put Bridge into that category. After all, if he could betray the rangers, he was probably capable of anything.

But it was Bridge's hands which gave him away, hands which trembled slightly as he held the blaster. "Don't do this," Piggy implored. He looked into Bridge's eyes. "You - you're not like the Troobians. You're better than that. You know this is wrong. And if you do this, you'll just be another one of Broodwing's thugs."

'Piggy's right,' Bridge realized. 'Even if he deserves it, I can't just kill him in cold blood.' It went against everything he believed it, everything he had been taught at SPD. "Okay, Piggy," Bridge said, slowly lowering the blaster. Removing the keys from one of the fallen krybots, he opened the prison door.

Piggy took a moment to silently thank all the human and alien Gods he knew, promising for the hundredth time to be a good, upstanding citizen from now he looked back, the ranger was stripping the uniform from a krybot.

"What are you doing?" Piggy asked, momentarily dumbfounded.

"I won't kill you, but Gruumm and Mora and even Broodwing probably would if they find you. Well, they definitely would. Anyways, I didn't save you just to let you die on this ship," Bridge said. "So you need a disguise." Tugging the uniform off the krybot, he gave it to Piggy, who put it on without protest.

The inside of the krybot uniform reeked of burnt plastic and electronics, and Piggy stifled a cough. It was hard to breathe inside the helmet, and even harder to see out of the dark-tinted eye openings.

"You'd better go," Bridge said. "He'll be really mad once he figures out you're gone."

Piggy didn't have to ask who 'he' was. Cursing the day he had ever become involved with that treacherous, good-for-nothing bat, Piggy crept towards the door, keeping a wary eye on Bridge.

"If you go up the stairs and to the left," Bride told him, "and then take another right and follow the long passageway to the other side of the ship, there's a teleporter which should take you back down to Earth."

Piggy couldn't believe his good luck. "Uh – thanks. But what will you do about Broodwing?"

"I guess I'll have to take my chances. And Piggy?"

"Yes?"

"I know all your hiding places," Bridge said. "If you tell the other rangers, I'll make sure Broodwing knows exactly where to find you."

Piggy nodded fearfully and scurried away as fast as he could.

* * *

Nobody saw when Bridge returned to SPD. Silently passing by a sleeping guard, Bridge made his way back to the dorms. Finally reaching his room, he slipped inside, closing the door behind him.

His only warning was the click of a switch, and then the room was flooded with light. Bridge blinked and waited for the bright spots to fade away. Trying not to look guilty, Bridge crossed the room and sat on the edge of his bed.

"Where were you?" Sky demanded.

"Nowhere," Bridge said. The lies were becoming easier to say, but harder to keep straight. "I couldn't sleep, so I went up to the roof."

"No, you didn't," Sky said quietly. "I checked there. I checked _everywhere_. In fact, I don't think you were at SPD at all."

"Where would I go?"

"I don't know. Why don't you tell me?"

Bridge said nothing.

"You see, that's exactly it," Sky said. "We used to be friends, but you don't tell me anything anymore."

"We're still friends," Bridge replied. "Being friends doesn't mean that we have to tell each other everything. I mean, everyone has secrets."

Sky shook his head. "Everyone has secrets, but not like yours. You have nothing _but_ secrets." And it was true. "Something is wrong, something doesn't fit. I've covered for you, even lied to Cruger for you. But I can't do it anymore. There are too many questions, questions which only you have the answer to.

Where do you go at night, Bridge? Why are your powers changing? These things can't all be coincidence. Why is it that every time something bad happens, you're nowhere to be found?"

"I don't know," Bridge said. "I guess it's just bad luck."

"Bad luck?" Sky said incredulously. "Look around, Bridge. We're in a war. The whole planet is depending on us. So if you know _anything_ that could help…"

"I already told you, I don't know anything," Bridge insisted. "Why can't you just leave me alone?"

"Fine, I will," Sky said, looking hurt. "This isn't over, though."

Bridge ignored him. Lying down, he turned towards the wall and pretended to sleep.

* * *

His mind full of anxious thoughts, Sky tossed and turned in bed. Finally falling into an uneasy sleep, he woke as the first rays of sunlight streamed through the window.

"I'm sorry, Bridge." Sky thought, taking one last look at his sleeping roommate. "But some things really are more important than friendship." Moving quietly, so as not to wake Bridge, Sky changed into a new uniform and crept out the door.

Haunted by a lurking sense of failure, Sky went in search of Cruger. First he went to the command center, but only Sophie and a few cadets were on duty.

The Commander didn't seem to be in any of the training areas, either. Maybe he was with Kat, in the temporary science labs set up in the basement. Taking the stairs two at a time until he reached the lower level, Sky saw lights within and tried the door. It was locked.

A little discouraged, Sky returned to the main atrium. He arrived just in time to watch Boom get arrested for treason.

* * *


	23. A Matter of Time

"No way!"

"You can't…"

"… not Boom!"

The command center was in an uproar. Cruger tried to speak several times, but kept getting interrupted. "Attention! Now, one at a time."

Sky, who had been silent until then, spoke first. "Sir, why do you think Boom is involved?"

That was an easy question. Cruger was silently grateful that Sky was so level-headed. "There have been two incidents involving information being stolen from our computers. We've managed to trace it back to Boom."

There was a moment of stunned silence.

"Sir, there's no way that Boom could have done that," Jack said. "He must have been framed."

"Yeah!" Syd exclaimed. "Boom was probably just in the wrong place at the wrong time."

"I _know_ he didn't do this," Bridge added. Sky was watching him closely, weighing every word. "Boom is our friend – he would never betray SPD."

Cruger sighed. "I don't like this any more than you, but we don't have a choice. If Boom is involved in any way, we need to know about it. Securing SPD needs to be our first priority."

"So that's it?" Z asked, a little horrified. SPD was supposed to be about justice, not about imprisoning innocent people. This definitely wasn't what she signed up for! "We're just going to keep him locked up like some criminal?"

"It's likely that Boom is being manipulated, probably by someone close to him." Kat finally said. "Now that he's detained, maybe the real traitor will become careless."

"And what happens if they don't?" Bridge said, speaking the fear on everyone's mind. "Become careless, I mean. Because we've all been trying our best, and we haven't caught them yet."

"We will catch the real traitor," Cruger replied. "It's only a matter of time."

Bridge briefly wondered how much of that confidence was real and how much was an act. Maybe the Commander knew more than he was letting on? 'No,' Bridge reasoned. 'If he knew anything, it would be me in that cell instead of Boom.'

"Bridge, you're closer to Boom than any of us. Have you noticed anything?" Cruger asked. "Does he have any new friends, or has he said or done anything strange?"

Bridge answered as honestly as he could. "No, sir. I haven't noticed anything - he's been pretty much the same as always. Well, maybe he's been a little more stressed out than usual, but everyone kind of is."

"That's true, cadet." Cruger said thoughtfully. "I'm sorry, rangers. But for now, this is the best option. Unless there's anything else, you're dismissed."

* * *

"Sir?" Sophie looked up from her console. "Supreme Commander Fowler is on the line."

Cruger groaned. How did he find out so quickly? Kat was right – bad news really did fly faster than light! "I'll take it in my office."

Returning to his office, he sat down at the desk. Taking a moment to compose himself, he pressed a button, and Fowler appeared on the viewing screen.

"I hear you've _finally_ detained a suspect," Fowler said. The way he said it implied great negligence on Cruger's part.

Cruger ignored the insult. Fowler enjoyed needling him, probably hoping that Cruger would lose his temper and do something rash. It hadn't happened yet. "Yes, but we believe there are others involved. Boom is an easy scapegoat, but the investigation is ongoing."

Fowler frowned. "You're letting your personal feelings cloud your judgment, Commander," he said disapprovingly. "Don't look so surprised. It's well known that you and Dr. Manx are close to the suspect."

"My feelings have nothing to do with it," Cruger countered. "Boom is not the traitor – he doesn't have the skills or the motivation."

"Are you sure, Commander?" Fowler asked. Cruger's silence was all the answer he needed. "I suppose that it doesn't concern you that this whole incident has been a publicity nightmare for SPD. "

"My only concern, Supreme Commander," Cruger said. "is the welfare of Earth."

Fowler ignored him, continuing as if he hadn't heard. "Do you know what our enemies are saying? They say that SPD, the most powerful police force in the galaxy, is so incompetent that we are unable to secure our own bases. And worse, powerful people, _important_ people, have begun to listen. What will you do, Cruger, when they strip you of your command and turn the defense of Earth over to, say, the Newtech Police Department?"

"That will never happen," Cruger growled.

"No, it won't," Fowler said flatly. "A special task force has been sent from Galactic Headquarters to collect the prisoner. They will arrive tomorrow, and I expect your full cooperation. The traitor will be tried by an intergalactic tribunal, and you will be _permitted_ to continue your work."

The Supreme Commander of SPD gave a sharp salute. "Goodbye, Commander."

"Supreme Commander," Cruger acknowledged distastefully, returning the salute.

Fowler blinked out of existence.

* * *

Boom sat inside his cell and stared dejectedly at the floor. His prison was one of the few isolation rooms, reserved for particularly dangerous or unruly prisoners.

He didn't think of himself as dangerous. Well, Kat might disagree with that, but he had never done anything illegal, certainly nothing that would get him arrested and confined! How could anyone believe he could have done all of those terrible things?

"At least my parents aren't here to see this," Boom thought, biting back a sob. After all, they still thought he was a ranger.

 _Clank!_

Boom nearly jumped out of his skin as a guard rapped her baton on his cell bars.

"Traitor!" The guard hissed. Boom knew many of the cadets, but he had never met this one before. "You're worse than the Troobians; you betrayed your own planet. People like you don't deserve to live!"

Boom backed as far away from the cell door as he could. There was something scary about that cadet, a cruel light in her eyes. If she had her way, Boom realized with a shiver, he wouldn't make it to any sort of trial – and many of the other cadets probably felt the same way.

"Leave him alone!" A familiar voice said. Standing outside of the room, Syd had heard enough.

"Yes, sir!" The guard returned to her post and stood at rapt attention.

Syd glared at her. "Well, what are you still doing here? You're dismissed."

Already in enough trouble, the guard saluted stiffly and left. She wasn't going to argue with a superior officer, but she couldn't understand why a ranger would stand up for someone like that.

Now that they were alone, Syd turned to Boom. "Boom, are you okay?"

"Not - not really." He wiped his eyes on his sleeve. He didn't want anyone, not even Syd, to see him cry. "You have to believe me, I didn't do it!"

"Boom, it'll be okay," Syd said. "None of us think you did it. We'll prove it wasn't you. You just have to hang in there."

Boom nodded. "I'll try, Syd. I really will."

* * *

For the rest of the day, through two training sessions and a battle in the city, Bridge was unusually silent. He spoke to his other teammates only when he had to, and he didn't speak to Sky at all.

For the most part, people left him alone. Whether it was out of respect or suspicion, Bridge no longer cared. Most people, particularly the cadets who didn't know him, seemed to feel a combination of both. Everyone knew he was friends with Boom; even Sophie was tiptoeing around him.

Sky, on the other hand, practically oozed suspicion. Bridge couldn't ignore it or block it out, so he tried to stay as far away from him as possible. However, since they shared a room, there was no way to avoid him.

"You weren't covering for Boom, were you?" Sky asked, finally cornering Bridge. "Because it would explain a lot."

"He didn't do anything," Bridge said. "There's nothing to cover for."

"You seem awfully sure about that," Sky replied. "I mean, even Cruger has doubts."

"I know he didn't do it," Bridge said quietly. "I don't need proof, he's my friend."

Sky looked a little ashamed. "Bridge, last night - I didn't mean…"

Bridge cut him off. "Yeah, you did. And I deserve it, I guess. But you - you don't trust anyone, no matter what. That's why everyone thinks it's you."

* * *


	24. Hide and Seek

Broodwing landed in front of Piggy's restaurant and paced in barely contained rage. Viciously kicking aside an upturned chair, the mercenary surveyed the empty parking lot and trailer.

Someone had scrawled their name in graffiti across the front of the restaurant, and the metal counter was partially torn off its hinges. The restaurant was obviously abandoned. Piggy would have to be incredibly foolish to return here, the first place anyone would look for him.

The mercenary scuffed his feet in the dirt. He looked up at the towering buildings of SPD headquarters and wished all the ills of the universe on its inhabitants and one green ranger in particular.

'He'll pay for this,' Broodwing thought. 'Maybe I should turn him in to the other rangers.' The idea was appealing. The Troobians would never know that Broodwing had betrayed them and, when Gruumm asked, he could probably blame it all on Mora.

'No,' Broodwing finally decided, 'I still need him.' After all, he couldn't defeat Gruumm and Mora on his own. But one day, once he ruled the Earth, there would be no need for disobedient, treacherous rangers.

The bat smiled evilly. He looked forward to that day.

* * *

Through a peephole beneath his trailer, Piggy watched Broodwing arrive and pace back and forth. Long ago, Piggy had expanded the area beneath his restaurant, digging out a hiding place. Accessible only through a secret entrance hidden beneath some storage crates, Piggy's hideout had all the comforts of home; a well-stocked supply of pickled banana peels, a comfortable bed of egg cartons and a unobstructed view of the area outside his trailer.

Piggy held his breath and stayed tried to stay perfectly still as the bat walked closer. He couldn't stop the trembling, though, which started in his hands and traveled all the way to his toes.

Outside, Broodwing cocked his head to the side, as if he could hear Piggy's fear. The bat took a step closer to Piggy's hiding place. 'He knows I'm here.' Piggy thought, beginning to panic.

A tense moment passed, before Broodwing turned around flew away. Piggy breathed a sigh of relief. 'What am I going to do?' He wondered. 'Broodwing is trying to kill me and the green ranger is out to get me too. Gruumm and Mora are trying to destroy the planet. Maybe it's time to leave Earth.'

Piggy mulled it over for a while. He still had friends and relatives, somewhere out in the Andromeda galaxy. Maybe his aunts would take him in until he could start a new restaurant. Piggy shuddered. Living with them might even be worse than being held prisoner by the Troobians. 'I don't want to leave,' Piggy thought, with a growing sense of anger and injustice. 'This is my home!'

'Do you really think that Gruumm and Mora will let you live?' A voice inside his head whispered. 'They'll hunt you down, find you.'

'I'll make it,' Piggy countered, trying to convince himself. 'I've done it before. They'll never find me – as long as the ranger doesn't tell them where I am.' That was the crux of the problem. If anyone could find him, it would be Bridge. Even though the ranger had saved his life, he worked for the Troobians and couldn't be trusted.

There was only one option left. He knew what he had to do, but he didn't have to like it.

* * *

For the second time in one day, Cruger was faced by a group of angry rangers.

"Sir, you can't do this," Syd argued, "Boom doesn't deserve to be shipped off-world!"

"He's human, he should stay on Earth," Jack said. "He's not a threat to anyone. Why can't we keep him here?"

"I'm afraid it's more complicated than that." Cruger thought of Fowler. "If we can't prove Boom's innocence by tomorrow, I will have no choice but to hand him over to Galactic Headquarters."

"But that's not fair!" Z exclaimed. She wasn't alone – the other rangers, excluding Sky, were looking downright mutinous.

"No, it's not," Cruger said. "And I will do everything in my power to prevent this and, if necessary, bring him home."

* * *

Boom had quickly grown to hate every inch of his cell. He hated the bright fluorescent lights, which caused him to squint every time he lay down. He hated the hard bed – a plastic ledge, really – and the reflective, polished tiles on the floor. But most of all, he hated the silence.

The isolation cells were completely soundproof. No one could hear him from outside this room and he couldn't hear them. He missed the chatter of cadets, the mechanical hum of the labs.

Even the shouts and taunts of the other prisoners would be preferable to this. With nothing else to do, Boom spent his time worrying and agonizing over his future.

What was going to happen to him? Were they going to keep him in this cell forever? Who was going to feed his fish? He must be losing his mind, worrying about a goldfish during a time like this.

'No, they won't let anything happen to me,' Boom told himself firmly. 'Syd promised.' As soon as he thought about her, the heavy outer door swung open and Syd entered the room, followed by Z. Boom got to his feet, but his smile faded as he saw their grim expressions.

"It's really bad, isn't it." Boom said, a horrible feeling growing in the pit of his stomach. "What's going to happen to me?

Z and Syd both looked at each other, suddenly reluctant to tell Boom the bad news. "They're planning to ship you off-world tomorrow," Z finally said. "I think they're planning to make an example of you."

"Off-world?" Boom said, stunned. He had never even been to Mexico on vacation, let alone off-world. "To where?"

"We don't know," Syd said. "You have to have seen something, anything, that would prove to Cruger that you didn't do it!"

"I don't know!" Boom cried. "I didn't see anything." He sat down at the edge of the bed and put his head in his hands. "It's hopeless. I'm doomed."

He looked up at the two rangers. "Can you guys do me a favor? Tell my parents that I love them and I didn't do it. And I'm sorry I lied to them, I just wanted them to be proud of me."

* * *

Bridge was on his way to the prison level when Syd ran past him. He could tell she was crying. Z followed close behind.

"Are you going to see Boom?" Z asked. "He's really upset right now. I think he could use a friend."

"Yeah," Bridge said. "I wanted to speak to him before they… sent him away."

Z spontaneously hugged him, holding him tight. Surprised, Bridge stiffened for a moment before returning the gesture. "It'll all work out in the end, Bridge. We'll get Boom back."

"I really hope so," he said sincerely.

Bridge walked further down the level, finally stopping in front of the door leading to Boom's cell. For several minutes, he stood in the hallway and wondered what he could possibly say to make things better.

'I can't just go in there and lie to him,' Bridge realized. 'No matter what Z says, it won't be all right, ever again.' Gruumm and Mora had already made sure of that. 'I can't change what's happened, but I can at least help Boom. He's my friend – I can't let him take the blame for everything I've done.'

* * *


	25. Say Goodbye

"I guess you already know," Boom said as Bridge entered the cell, his voice cracking a little. Boom stared fixedly at the floor, refusing to look at the green ranger. "Syd and Z must have sent you to say goodbye."

There was so much Bridge wanted to tell him, so much he had to say. But suddenly, he didn't know where to begin. "Boom – I'm really sorry about all of this."

"It's not your fault," Boom said. "I guess it's not really anyone's fault. Did – did you know that they're going to try me for treason?"

"Who told you that?" Bridge asked, startled.

Boom shrugged. "I went to the Academy, too. I know what the regulations say. It's true, isn't it? Z said that they were planning to make an example out of me."

"That won't happen," Bridge took a breath, steadying himself for the confession that he had both feared and longed to make for weeks. "I -"

"Don't lie to me," Boom interrupted, startling Bridge. His voice steadily rose in anger. "It doesn't make me feel any better. I'm about to get shipped off to god-knows-where and put on trial in front half the galaxy and there's nothing you or anyone else can do to help!" Boom wiped his eyes on his sleeve, choking back sobs. "I'm sorry, I don't know what's wrong with me," Boom said, finally recovering his voice. "But you believe me, don't you? That I didn't do it?"

Bridge couldn't wait any longer. The words rushed out as if they had a life of their own. "Boom, I know it couldn't have been you. Because - because it was me."

Boom recoiled. "What? What are you saying?"

"I'm the traitor. I broke into Kat's labs and Cruger's office. I was the one who hacked into the computers. I used your password, that's why they think it was you."

Boom shook his head. "No, I don't believe you! I won't let you take the blame for me."

"I gave the Troobians everything," Bridge continued. "Maps of SPD, the plans for the megazord. Even the blueprints for the SWAT upgrades."

"But - I don't understand. I thought the SWAT upgrades were supposed to be a secret. No ranger was supposed to know until -"

"I blew up Kat's lab," Bridge said. "You weren't there – you had just left. There was no one there but me and those two scientists. It was all a distraction so I could break into Cruger's office and steal that information."

The truth dawned on Boom slowly, and with it a deep feeling of pain and betrayal. "You didn't have to hurt them," he said in his smallest voice.

"There wasn't any other way," Bridge said. His voice cracked , betraying his inner turmoil. "I needed that information and I couldn't risk Kat running a test on my DNA. The Troobians changed me."

"So that's it," Boom said, staring at Bridge with increasing revulsion. "You lied to everyone. You've been working for the Troobians all along. Bridge, how could you? I thought you were my friend!" Panicking, Boom looked around the room for any way to alert the other guards. 'I have to get out of here. I have to tell someone, anyone!'

"No one will believe you," Bridge read his thoughts, as clearly as if Boom had spoken them. "Not until it's too late. Boom, I hope you'll forgive me for this one day, but I doubt it."

Realizing what was about to happen, Boom ran up and grabbed the bars. "Bridge, wait!" Boom said desperately. "You don't have to do this!"

Bridge turned and ran. Ignoring Boom's yells for help, he closed the heavy outer door behind him. Removing his glove, he destroyed the locks with a flick of his wrist, green lighting fusing the door shut.

* * *

Bridge fled away from the prison block and his former friend, deep into the forbidden heart of the megazord. A guard saluted respectfully as he approached and held up a warning hand.

"Sir, you're not authorized to enter this area – "

Bridge struck before the guard could react. The unfortunate cadet flew against the wall, sliding to the ground in a unconscious heap. Bridge's hands shook has he reached down and retrieved the guard's red-coded keypass.

The door slid open and Bridge entered a room he had read about, but never thought he would see. The walls were curved and lined with green and blue panels. Thousands of wires hung from the ceiling, connecting the many computer systems within the megazord.

The room thrummed with power, almost as if it was alive. A soft blue light shining from beneath a panel caught Bridge's eye. Prying open the panel, he looked down at the transforming crystal, nested in its chamber of golden wires.

He reached in slowly, expecting to be burned. The crystal, however, was surprisingly cool to the touch and fit easily in his hand. As he removed it, a loud alarm sounded. Pocketing the crystal, Bridge threw himself at the door, barely managing to slide underneath before it closed.

He rolled to his feet and continued running. His heart was pounding, fear making his surroundings sharp and bright. In that moment, the doubt and self-loathing were gone, replaced by a sick sense of desperation. Bridge could think of only one thing – escape. He reached an access door to the outside and tried the code. The door remained locked. He tried once more before realizing the problem.

Level 1 emergency lockdown.

No one could enter or leave the base.

* * *


	26. Freedom, Or Something Like It

Bridge wondered how he could have been so stupid. With the base in maximum security lockdown, it would take someone with override codes to open the outer doors. Not even the power of the Troobian teleporter could reach him here.

'There has to be another way out,' Bridge thought. Drawing on all his experience as a ranger, he forced himself to remain calm and think clearly. He couldn't afford to panic with the entire base looking for him.

Leaving through the door was out of the question. As far as he knew, only Cruger and Kat had those codes. Even if he found them, they would probably see right through him. He was sure he looked as guilty as he felt.

The crystal felt very heavy in his pocket.

Bridge turned away from the door and headed for the central atrium, away from the megazord core. As he passed a darkened room, something made him stop. His instincts told him that something was wrong, out of place.

Something – someone – stirred in the darkness, muffling a whimper. Blocking the doorway, Bridge turned on the lights and looked at the very last person he expected to see.

"Piggy?"

Piggy prostrated himself on the floor in front of the green ranger. "Please don't kill me! I wasn't _really_ going to do it!"

"You weren't going to do – " Bridge realized the answer immediately. "You came here to tell the rangers about me."

Piggy stalled for time, fidgeting nervously. "No, not really. I mean, it wasn't exactly like that."

"It was _exactly_ like that," Bridge said. He wanted to feel angry, but instead he just felt tired. "Why else would you be here?"

Piggy wracked his brain for a believable story. "Well, I – " Piggy eyed the ranger with fear and something that bordered on hatred. "Fine, I'll tell you the truth. I was going to turn you in and ask the other Rangers to hide me. But can you blame me? I've lost everything. My restaurant, my customers, everything is gone. I'm a fugitive."

Bridge thought about it. He probably would have done the same thing. "Look, Piggy, I know you didn't come through the door like everyone else. You're going to show me a way out."

"And then what?"

"Then I'll let you go, and you can tell the other rangers whatever you want. About me and Broodwing and everything. You might not want to tell them about how you helped me escape, though."

The alien hesitated for a moment before giving in with a resigned sigh. "Okay, okay. I'll do it. This way."

Piggy led him deeper inside SPD. The two flattened themselves against the wall of a wide atrium, hiding in the shadows as a cadet ran by. "How far?" Bridge whispered. The closer they got to the megazord core, the more likely someone was to recognize them both.

"Just little bit –" Piggy cut off suddenly and Bridge looked up.

Z was standing in the hallway, staring at him. "Bridge, what are you doing?"

Piggy wrenched out of his grasp and ran to hide behind the yellow ranger, moving faster than Bridge thought possible. "Help! He's the one you're looking for. He's been brainwashed by the Troobians!"

"What?" Z turned around to face Piggy, who was already beginning to flee.

'I can't let him get away!' Bridge thought, terrified at the idea of being trapped forever in SPD. He couldn't face the Commander's disappointment and fury. He couldn't face Sky! He did it without thinking, acting on pure adrenaline and shot, and Piggy howled and crumpled to the floor, clutching his crippled leg.

"See?" The alien managed between gasps of agony. "Would the green ranger you know ever do that?"

Bridge lowered his arm to his side, keeping a tight grip on the blaster. His hand was trembling so much, he was afraid he would drop it.

A doubt flickered across Z's face. "Bridge, is it true?"

All he had to do was lie once more. He had done the same to Sky and Cruger dozens of times. Only two people knew the truth, Piggy and Boom. No one would believe either of them against the word of a ranger. By the time they unraveled the web of lies and half-truths, he would be gone. But it was lies that had brought him here, made him into a person he despised. A person who could shoot someone in cold blood.

Bridge was done with lying. "I don't want anyone else to get hurt," he said numbly.

Z took a cautious step towards him. "Whatever it is, we can work it out. I want to help you."

"It's too late," Bridge said. "I have the transforming crystal."

"What?" She was silent for a moment. "Then – then it's true. I don't know what Gruumm's done to you, but I can't let you get away with this. SPD Emergency!"

* * *

Abandoning Piggy, Bridge dove behind a concrete support pillar. Glimpsing a yellow streak out of the corner of his eye, he fired his blaster and missed by several feet. Z had always been a better fighter and, while morphed, she was strong and faster than he would ever be.

Bridge unclipped his own morpher. He hadn't expected the fight to escalate so quickly. "SPD Emergency!"

The morpher remained dead in his hand. 'I've been disconnected from the morphing grid,' Bridge realized. He barely avoided her next shot, which came so close that it seared across his hand, burning a hole in his glove.

He steadied his hands and fired. Z stumbled and Bridge ran forwards, sweeping her feet from under her with a well-placed kick. She reacted instantly, lashing out with her striker and hitting him hard across the side of his face.

The world spun and, the next thing he knew, he was staring at the ceiling. Z pinned him down, pointing her blaster at him. She unclipped her containment cuffs and demorphed.

"I'm sorry, Bridge, but I'm taking you in," Z said. "Just surrender, it's over."

One of his gloves had come loose. Bridge slowly slid it off his hand, until his fingers touched the cool tile floor. "It'll never be over. Not until SPD or the Troobians have been destroyed."

He had to show her. He had to make her understand.

She expected him to push her away, so he grabbed the fabric of her uniform and pulled her closer. Before she could escape, he reached upwards and touched her face.

The world dissolved in a blur of color and sound. Images flashed by like a movie reel. He saw the streets of Newtech city, dark doorways and alleys that Z had once called home. He heard a younger, scruffier Jack made a joke and felt himself laugh.

'These aren't my memories,' Bridge reminded himself. 'Z is laughing, not me.'

He drew images of the Troobians to the front of his mind. He forced her to see his memories, his experiences. He could feel Z trembling, trying to push him out of her mind. He brushed her consciousness away like a fly.

He felt himself slipping, losing his grip on reality. For a moment, he was no longer Bridge. And then it was Z who stood on the Troobian spaceship, facing the destruction of the Earth. It was Z who pledged her loyalty to the evil warlord, Z who was manipulated and tormented by Broodwing and Mora.

The link had gone on too long. It took tremendous effort to pull his hand away. Z stood frozen above him for a moment, before slumping on the ground next to him. Her eyes were open and unblinking.

Piggy, still lying on the ground, stared at him in horror. "You killed her!"

"She's not dead," Bridge said. He knelt next to her. He didn't dare touch her – it might make it worse. 'This is all my fault. If I had told everyone the truth from the beginning, none of this would ever have happened.' He hadn't meant to hurt her so badly. If there was any chance that his team would have forgiven him before, that was gone now. "Z," Bridge whispered. He wiped away the tears that rose to his eyes. "I am really, really sorry."

Out of the corner of his eye, Bridge saw Piggy trying to crawl away. As he rose to his feet, Bridge staggered slightly before catching his balance. His head throbbed mercilessly and Bridge gritted his teeth, wishing the high-pitched ringing in his ears would disappear. Catching up to Piggy, he pulled the alien upright. Piggy tried to push him away, only to fall back onto the floor with a hiss of pain.

Bridge offered the injured alien a hand. Piggy stared at it like it was a deadly snake that could strike at any minute. "You can't walk without my help," Bridge said, and even Piggy couldn't argue with that. The unlikely pair hobbled down the corridor until they reached a metal hatch, carefully concealed in the floor.

"This is it," Piggy said, pointing down. "It used to be a service conduit, before Broodwing had his spies change the codes." He passed Bridge a crumpled piece of paper and scowled. "This is the code I used to get in. Can I go now?"

Bridge pried the hatch open and peered into the shaft. A ladder led down before disappearing into murky darkness. It might lead outside, or it might lead nowhere. For all he knew, Piggy intended to trap him down there. "One more thing." Bridge dragged Piggy towards a section of pipe protruding from the wall. Handcuffing the him to the pipes, he turned back to the secret passage.

"You can't just leave me here," Piggy cried, tugging on the containment cuffs.

"You wanted to warn the other rangers, and now you'll get your chance," Bridge said. His own voice sounded muffled and far away. Bridge braced himself and descended into the hole, taking each step carefully. The ladder wobbled unsteadily and seemed to go down forever.

The darkness closed in around him, until he could see nothing but a tiny spot of light high above. He kept climbing down. At last, his feet hit solid metal and Bridge saw a tiny interface panel to his side, glowing softly. He punched in the codes and the door slid open with a rusty creak, dropping him onto the soft grass.

He crouched for a moment, listening for approaching footsteps. Taking a deep breath, he threw himself to his feet and dashed for the invisible boundary separating SPD headquarters from the rest of the city. He heard a shout from somewhere to his left. The last thing he saw before teleporting away was Sophie, her face arranged in an expression of almost comical surprise.

* * *


	27. Judgment Mode

Z lay motionless in the white hospital bed, wires and tubes connecting her to a wall of machines. For a minute, Cruger simply stood and listened to her slow breathing and the beeping of her heart monitor.

It was his job to protect her and he had failed. "I'm sorry," he whispered, reaching out and briefly touching her hand. Even with all of his power, with all of the people under his authority, Cruger had never felt more helpless.

On the other side of the infirmary, Kat left her computer and stood beside him. "She's in some kind of coma. I'm doing what I can, but I'm not sure how to help her."

Cruger grimaced. "How could Bridge have done this?"

"I don't know," Kat said and looked away. "Mind control isn't subtle enough, we would have noticed. Maybe some other form of manipulation. The Bridge I knew would never hurt anyone, but people – people change."

After a moment of painful reflection, Kat continued. "We're still trying to free Boom from his cell. Also, Piggy was discovered handcuffed to a wall in one of the lower levels. He has been confined in a cell in the high-security block."

"We need to find out exactly what he knows," Cruger growled. Sparing one last look at Z, he left to find his three remaining rangers.

* * *

Sky carefully stepped out onto roof. With every step, the wind tugged at him, threatening to pull him off the edge into what would undoubtedly be a fatal fall.

He wasn't about to turn back now. He had climbed five flights of stairs and a long, thin ladder to reach this spot.

A short distance away, Jack was perched on top of the stylized head of the Delta Base, hunched over as if in pain. Sky sat down next him and wondered what he should say. He had never been good at apologies.

"Why are you here?" Jack said.

Sky shrugged. He watched as dark clouds drifted by and a few raindrops spattered down on the roof. By the time he was ready to speak, the weather had worsened, and his first attempt at an apology was snatched away by the howling wind.

"What?" Jack turned towards him.

"I said, I'm sorry."

"Oh." Jack grimaced. "It wasn't your fault. I actually thought you were the traitor for awhile, so I guess I should be apologizing too."

"You really thought I – " Sky said indignantly. "Never mind. It doesn't matter now."

"I guess not." The red ranger looked out over the city. Beneath the ultra-modern glass and metal buildings were old, run-down apartments and familiar alleyways. He wished they had stayed on the streets. There, at least, he could have kept Z safe. "I just don't understand it," Jack said.

Sky knew exactly what he meant. "You were wrong, before. It was my fault," he confessed. "I knew something was wrong with Bridge, and I didn't say anything. I wanted to, but – "

"But what?" Jack narrowed his eyes.

 _But he is – was – my friend._ "I just couldn't."

"You couldn't?" Jack said, suddenly furious. His voice shook with anger. "You chose not to turn him in. You knew someone would get hurt, and you did it anyways!"

"I wasn't sure!"

"You weren't sure," Jack mocked spitefully. "Either you're lying, or you're the worst judge of character on the planet. Why are all of your friends traitors, Sky?"

"This isn't about Dru," Sky said.

"No, this is about you!" Jack shoved him, and Sky slipped on the smooth tiles. He covered his face as Jack raised a fist to strike him. "You're as bad as Bridge!"

"That's enough," Cruger's voice boomed out. Both rangers froze. Jack slowly lowered his arm. Sky stumbled to his feet and stood at attention.

"I expected more from you," Cruger stared at each of them in turn. "Both of you. If I ever see anything like that happen again, you will be spending every free moment scrubbing out toilets. Is that clear?"

"Yes, sir," Sky said. Jack echoed him a moment later.

Cruger's expression softened. "Jack, I understand how difficult this is for you, but it's not Sky's fault. Right now, it is more important than ever that we work together. Gruumm is planning his final attack, and it will happen very soon. You have to be ready to face him."

"Do you think Bridge will be with then?" Sky asked. He felt nauseous at the thought.

Cruger nodded. "We have to be prepared for that possibility. Now, come with me. I have something to show you both."

* * *

Bridge gingerly placed the crystal in Gruumm's outstretched hand. The warlord's red eyes glinted deep inside the gem, reflected off the perfect facets.

Gruumm clenched his fist around the gem, concealing it from sight. 'Soon, Cruger,' Gruumm told himself. His missing horn ached, a constant reminder of his defeat. 'Soon, you will pay.'

From the other side of the throne room, Broodwing watched with an expression that could only be described as a combination of lust and jealousy.

Bridge filed that piece of information away for further use.

"I just knew you could do it," Mora said and giggled. She clapped her hands together in delight. "I'm so glad you're finally here. I had the krybots make you a room. It's right next to my playroom." She jumped down from her throne. "Well, are you coming?"

Bridge followed her out of the throne room before she could decide to drag him.

As soon as they were away from Gruumm and Broodwing, Mora stopped and squinted at him. "I didn't want to say anything in front of Gruumm," she said, "but you don't look so good." She thought for a moment. "I know, I could draw a nurse-monster to take care of you!"

"No, thanks," Bridge said quickly. "I'll be fine."

Mora seemed a little disappointed. "Well, if there's anything you need…"

"Actually, there is," Bridge said, "There's something wrong with my morpher. When I tried to use it, back at SPD, it wouldn't work."

"That's because you went through the genetic accelerator," Mora said, as if that explained everything. She heaved a long-suffering sigh at Bridge's blank look. "You're pretty dense, you know that? Your morpher is locked to your old DNA. When you went through the accelerator, it mutated you. Even more than you already were. It just took awhile for your morpher to stop working because your DNA hadn't stabilized yet."

Bridge blinked. "Why didn't you tell me any of this before?"

"I didn't want to worry you!" Mora said. "Besides, there wasn't anything that could be done until you were back anyhow."

"But you can fix it?" Bridge asked anxiously.

"Of course! Let me see it." Mora rolled her eyes at his hesitation. "I'll give it back to you, silly. What would I do with a morpher?"

Bridge could imagine all kinds of things, but he gave it to her anyhow. He felt vulnerable and defenseless without it, as if a part of him was missing.

"I told the krybots to make your room comfortable," Mora said, leading him past her playroom, "but they're not really good at things like that." She stood in the doorway and watched intently as Bridge looked around his new room.

It was larger than his old one at SPD but was oddly shaped, the walls curving and twisting around the furniture. The krybots had added a bed, along with a green ball that hovered near the ceiling and emitted a soft, pulsating light. It took him a moment to recognize another lump in the wall as a dresser.

"Thank you," Bridge added belatedly, because Mora seemed to expect it and it never hurt to be polite. "It's fine."

The pictomancer looked a little disappointed at his lack of enthusiasm. "Well, I'll just let you get settled in," Mora said. "I'll be in my playroom if you get bored." She stomped off in a huff.

Bridge waited until her footsteps faded down the hallway and sat down on the bed. He sunk down a little too deeply into the strange, spongy material, as if that the ship was trying to draw him closer into its organic embrace. He put his head in his hands and wondered if he looked as bad as he felt. If Mora wanted to draw him a nurse, he probably looked even worse.

A muffled sound came from the corner of the room. Bridge jumped to his feet and instinctively reached for his morpher as Invisor stepped from the shadows. He had almost forgotten that the monster existed. "Um – hi?"

Even when Bridge stood at his full height, Invisor towered over him. The monster looked down at Bridge like he was an insect that needed to be squashed. "Green ranger," Invisor acknowledged, flexing his claws.

"Look, we may have fought before," Bridge said. "but now we're kind of on the same side, so…"

"This isn't about sides," the monster growled. "I will defeat you and once Mora sees how weak you are, she'll finally notice me. I'm here to challenge you to a duel, ranger. A duel to the death."

Bridge shook his head. "Wait a minute – you might be a monster, and kind of a crazy one too, but I'm not going to kill you. Especially over Mora."

"You don't have enough power to kill me," Invisor sneered. "You couldn't defeat me, even when working with the other rangers."

"Things change," Bridge said. He stood his ground, refusing to back down. He instinctively knew that, right now, any sign of weakness could be deadly. "That was a long time ago." It felt like forever.

"You are nothing," the monster taunted, moving closer until there was only an inch between then. "You're afraid to fight me, because you know you will lose. You can't save yourself. You can't even save your friends. What made you think that someone like _you_ could save an entire planet?"

Bridge clenched his fists until the knuckles turned white. "I accept your challenge," he said, glaring at Invisor. The monster gave a low, rumbling laugh before disappearing once more, fading into the shadows.

* * *


	28. Teatime with Mora

"What are they?" Syd asked. Her eyes were red and her face puffy from crying. In front of the three rangers hovered holographic models of the red, blue and pink ranger suits. Each was equipped with the SWAT vest, headpiece and weaponry.

"These are the finished models of the Special Weapons and Tactics upgrade," Kat said. "They will make you stronger, faster and more powerful. It's being added to your ranger suits as we speak."

Jack thought back to all the battles they had fought and barely won. Defeating those monsters would have been easy with their new suits. "Why didn't we get these earlier?" He asked, a note of accusation in his voice.

"I hoped that you would have more time," Cruger said.

'Cruger doesn't think we can handle it,' Jack thought, 'but now he doesn't have a choice.' He was almost looking forward to the coming battle. Nobody hurt Z and got away with it, not while he was around. The next time they met, Bridge would pay for what he had done.

* * *

Piggy sat in the hard metal chair of the interrogation room and fidgeted. He tugged at the handcuff that chained him to the heavy table and wondered what they were going to do with him.

If he craned his neck, he could see out the small square window on the door. A grim-looking cadet, as implacable and silent as a krybot, was standing guard outside.

Piggy rubbed his stomach and tried not think of food. SPD prison food was edible, of course, but it was bland and came in tiny portions. He wondered how long he had been waiting in this room. "At least they haven't carded me yet," Piggy reminded himself.

Just as he began to think he had been forgotten, the door swung open and Anubis Cruger entered the room. Piggy swallowed heavily. The commander was even more intimidating in person than in the newscasts. After all, this was the famous warrior who took Gruumm's horn!

"I've heard of all about you, Piggy," Cruger said. His tone implied that none of it had been good.

Piggy cleared his throat and found his voice. "I'll tell you anything you want to know, but please don't throw me out. I don't have anywhere to go, really. And the Troobians will probably kill me. And Broodwing will definitely kill me. If you kick me out, it'll be murder."

Cruger sat down in the chair across from him. "I have no intention of throwing you out. Now, exactly how did you become involved with Bridge and the Troobians?"

Piggy breathed a sigh of relief. "I knew Broodwing had something planned," he said, "but he always has something planned. Though I knew it was getting really serious when I saw him talking with the green ranger…"

Cruger listened intently as Piggy told his entire story in what seemed like a single breath.

"… and that's how I wound up handcuffed to a pipe," Piggy finished. He watched the commander anxiously, waiting for his reaction.

Cruger sighed. He felt a headache coming on. The entire affair was even more complicated than he had imagined. "Let's start over. You first met Broodwing…"

* * *

Mora's playroom was carefully set for the tea party. The table was covered with a flowery black and pink tablecloth. There was a plate piled high with cookies and four plastic cups with saucers. Mora sat on one side, flanked by Cindy and a forlorn-looking teddy bear who was missing both arms. Bridge sat in the empty place. He had to pull up his knees to fit in the child-sized chair.

"Would you like some?" Mora poured some imaginary tea from the pot. Bridge obediently pretended to sip from his cup.

"I heard all about your duel with Invisor," Mora said. She broke off a piece of cookie and put it on Cindy's saucer. "Everyone knows about it, even Gruumm. He was really angry at first, but I convinced him that this was a good way for you to prove yourself."

"Haven't I proved myself already?"

Mora roller her eyes. "You SPD types are all the same. You think you can do a few little things and everyone trusts you. Not everyone believes in your laws, you know."

"They're not my laws," Bridge pointed out. "Technically, the galactic assembly makes them and SPD just enforces them."

"Whatever," Mora said. "You fight your enemies. And then you contain them in those little cards of yours. But they're not dead – you just ship them off-world for someone else to deal with."

"Well, yeah," Bridge objected. "But…"

"I have a question for you," Mora interrupted. "Have you ever killed anyone? Have you ever made a mistake and, I don't know, forgotten to card someone?"

"No," Bridge said. "That's one of the first things you learn at the academy. SPD rangers don't kill. No matter what the crime."

"Exactly. If you can't even kill a monster, what makes you think you'll be able to kill the rangers?" Mora smirked when Bridge didn't answer. She brushed crumbs off her dress and stood. "Come with me!"

Mora grabbed his hand and led him down winding passageways to the far end of the ship. "I thought of having the duel on Earth, but the rangers would probably mess everything up. And then I thought of this!"

She pointed to the back of an empty room, where an entire wall had been transformed into a dark, swirling portal. Through the portal he could see a barren world beyond the Troobian ship.

"It was a doodle I once did," Mora said. Her eyes shone with pride. "It didn't just become a monster. It became another universe. But it's very small and there's nothing there, so I kind of forgot about it. It's called the alter-verse."

* * *

  



	29. Louder than Words

Hospitals made him nervous.

Jack had been afraid of them since he was a kid. He felt every eye on him as he entered the infirmary and sat down in a worn hospital chair. He stared steadily back at the curious cadets, meeting each of their eyes until they looked away.

This was his fifteenth visit in three days. The rational part of him knew that Z was getting the very best care. The irrational part didn't care. He couldn't just leave her here alone, injured and vulnerable.

Jack reached out and held her hand, willing her to wake up, to open her eyes. "Z, I don't know if you can hear me, but please get better soon. I can't do this without you."

He wished they had turned down Cruger's offer and stayed on the streets. There, at least, he could have kept her safe.

* * *

In comparison to the bustle and excitement of SPD, the Troobian ship was surprisingly boring. It was probably, Bridge reflected, because none of the Troobians actually liked each other.

Gruumm spent most of his time alone in the throne room, sometimes retreating to a locked room that no one, not even Mora, dared enter. Broodwing had a habit of disappearing whenever Mora wanted a playmate, and Bridge was certain that the bat had a secret way of getting on and off the ship.

On the other hand, Bridge had run into Invisor several times. He was certain the monster was stalking him, choosing to become visible every once in a while just to remind Bridge of his threatening presence.

A krybot jumped out from a hidden archway and Bridge reacted without thinking, dropping it to the floor with a chop to the jaw.

"Sorry," Bridge said, rubbing his hand. His nerves were raw from having to be constantly on alert. As far as he knew, monsters didn't have a code of honor. He wouldn't put it past Invisor to try and cripple him before their duel.

The krybot recovered quickly, hopped to its feet and marched away. Bridge followed it until he reached a huge storage room. Blue and orange-head krybots stood in lines, tall and stiff like clay warriors from an ancient tomb. Behind them were countless crates of silver krybot spheres.

Bridge waved his hand in front of one of the blue-head krybots. When it didn't move, he stepped closer. He'd never had a chance to study one this close, to see the smooth lines and seams that concealed a body of metal and wires and malevolent intelligence.

"Over here, ranger," Broodwing said and gestured for him to come closer. A krybot lay on the table, its chest opened to expose the moving parts. Broodwing picked up a pair of pliers and removed a worn cog from the krybot, replacing it with a glowing yellow one.

"What are you doing?" Bridge asked.

"Modifying the krybots," Broodwing maneuvered the cyborg's chest piece back into place. "I invented them, after all."

The bat seemed amused at Bridge's skeptical look. "Mora would never mass produce her monsters. She considers herself an artist." Broodwing gestured dismissively. "Pointless, childish nonsense. These are the real future of monsters. Mechanical, mass-produced and infinitely expendable."

The krybot turned its head slowly to look at him and Bridge shivered. He knew it was his imagination, but he almost thought he saw it breathe.

Broodwing was watching him closely, eyes narrowed. "You let Piggy go. I should destroy you for that."

"If you were going to kill me, you would have done it already," Bridge said. "You still need me."

Broodwing nodded slowly in agreement. "You're right – for now. Soon, all of these krybots will be activated and teleported to Earth. t The battle will be great and the rangers will lose." He lowered his voice to a whisper. "But after the battle, Gruumm and Mora will be weak. That is when we will destroy them."

Bridge thought for a moment. "What if Gruumm and Mora won't fight us? They might just teleport back to the ship and draw new monsters or destroy the Earth from space or something."

Broodwing smirked and tapped the krybot with a claw. "I'm far ahead of you, ranger. This krybot will stay behind. Gruumm will never notice one extra krybot guarding the ship. I have programmed it to deactivate the teleporter after the second wave of krybots is sent down. Only I will be able to reactivate it."

Bridge was now absolutely certain that Broodwing had his own teleporter. The mercenary would never attempt something so risky without an escape plan. "So what do you want me to do?"

"Nothing. If you survive your duel, I will know that you are ready. If not…" Broodwing shrugged. "Either way, Gruumm and Mora won't make it off Earth alive."

* * *

Syd stepped around a half-packed box and paused on one of the few patches of clear floor in the room. As she watched, Boom took all the clothes out of his closet and stuffed them into a duffel bag.

"Boom, you don't have to do this," Syd said.

"Yes, I do." Boom looked around the room, anywhere but at Syd. His eyes fell on a stray book and he tossed it in the box. "I already told Cruger and he accepted my resignation."

"Why? We need you, now more than ever."

"No, you guys really don't," Boom said. He sighed. "You're rangers. I'm just a lab assistant. There are tons of people who could do my job. They can probably do it better than me, anyhow."

"That's not true," Syd said, almost pleading. Somehow, she couldn't stand the idea of anyone else leaving. Especially not Boom, who had been with them since the beginning. "You wouldn't be working for Kat if you weren't great at what you do. Boom, you love this job. You can't just leave like this."

"Yeah, I loved this job." Boom sat down slowly on the edge of the bed. "I loved having friends and helping you guys. But that was before I realized that Kat, Cruger and the rest of them thought I was capable of betraying everyone. Did you know that a bunch of people still won't talk to me?"

If Syd met any of those people, she'd tell them a thing or two. "Running away won't help things. They'll come around."

"And what if they don't? I didn't even do anything and they'll probably never trust me again," Boom said. "Especially not after everything that happened with Bridge. No, it's better if I leave."

Syd was silent for a moment. "What will you do?"

"Well, I guess I'll move back home with my parents, at least until I find another job. Maybe it's time to come clean to them anyways. I never worked up the nerve to tell them I dropped out of the academy. They think I'm a ranger."

Boom watched carefully for her reaction. At least Syd didn't seem angry. He thought about what his father would say and sighed again. "I shouldn't have lied to them to begin with."

"Is there anything I can do to help?" Syd asked.

"No, I don't think so." Boom gave a sad sinking smile. He was surprised by how much she cared. "Thanks for believing in me."

Syd pulled him into a tight hug that Boom awkwardly returned.

"Goodbye, Syd."

* * *


	30. Lost Friends

Piggy fidgeted on the hard bed of his cell. He turned to face the wall, then turned over onto his other side before sitting up. Piggy rubbed his aching shoulder and gave the bed – if you could call it that – a nasty look. It looked and felt more like a shelf.

At least he had this cell to himself. Piggy thanked his lucky stars that he didn't have to share with some creepy criminal cellmate like the giant green insectoid snapping its pincers at him from across the hall. It was hard to be sure when it came to exotic alien customs, but that didn't look like a friendly gesture.

Piggy jumped to his feet when one of the rangers stopped in front of his cell. He walked over to the bars.

"Hey, you're the blue ranger, right?" Piggy had forgotten his name. He swore this cadet was named after something in nature, like a tree or a lake or something. "There isn't really anything I can tell you that your commander doesn't already know."

"I'm not here about the Troobians," the ranger said. "I wanted to ask you about Bridge."

Piggy thought that was an odd distinction to make. As far as he could tell, Bridge _was_ one of the Troobians. "Uh… what's your name again?"

"Sky," the blue ranger said curtly. "Now, Bridge?"

"What about him?"

Sky started to pace in short, anxious strides. "Why did he do it? There has to be some reason for it. People don't devote their lives to fighting crime and turn into criminals the next day."

Piggy thought back to his encounters with Bridge. "I don't know. I didn't really get much of a chance to talk to him. He seemed kind of reluctant about helping them, now that I think about it. And he never hurt me, so he can't be all bad."

"Why did you help them?"

"Eh – well, business had been bad lately and I really needed the extra cash. And they weren't about to take no for an answer, anyways, so what can you do?" Piggy gave a philosophical shrug.

Sky was watching him closely. "We're rangers. We get threatened all the time. Bridge wouldn't have betrayed us just because of that."

"Look, the Troobians have ways of getting people to do what they want. Me – I'm a coward, so they threatened me. I don't know what they did to your friend, or why he helped them. But whatever they were holding over him must have been big. Like, planet-sized huge."

That answer seemed to satisfy Sky. "Thanks."

"No problem. Hey, do you know when they're going to let me out of…"

The ranger was already gone. Piggy shook his head in disgust and lay back down on the bed. He closed his eyes and tried to ignore the hissing and clicking noises of the other prisoner.

* * *

Syd spotted Cruger and Kat from across the command center."Did you know that Boom is leaving?" she demanded, interrupting their conversation. "How could you just let him go?"

"It was his choice. We have to respect it," Cruger said.

"Respect it?" Syd's voice rose an octave. A hush fell over the command center and the cadets closest to her winced and tried to move away. "Boom did everything he could to help us, always. This is his entire life and he's leaving because he feels that we don't trust him! And nobody even cares enough to stop him!"

Kat met her angry glare. "I trust and value Boom, both as an assistant and a friend. I knew he wasn't capable of betraying us, but at the time there was so much evidence against him." She lowered her voice. "Galactic headquarters forced us to act, and it was a difficult choice. We both knew that he would eventually be cleared."

"If I knew how to make it up to him, I would," Cruger added. "I asked him to stay, and he refused. There's nothing more we can do."

"So is that what you told him?" Syd said. She felt tears on her cheeks and brushed them away. "That you knew he was innocent but you threw him under the bus to make headquarters happy and now there's nothing more you can do?"

"You don't understand."

"No," Syd replied in her iciest voice, looking between them both. "I understand perfectly."

* * *

Three furtive red eyes followed Gruumm as he walked down the dark hallway to a room only he could enter. Gruumm glanced around, searching for any unwanted intruders, and then placed his hand on a hidden panel.

The door opened to reveal the treasures of a hundred conquered worlds. He passed overflowing piles of glowing gems, priceless works of art and twisted alien weapons, stopping at last in front of a huge ebony chest, engraved with complex patterns and symbols in the ancient language of the Troobian homeworld.

Gruumm reached over and flipped open the clasp. He opened his fist and held the transforming crystal up to the light, admiring once more the beauty and power within the gem. Then he placed the crystal on an upraised cushion in the center of the velvet-lined chest. To its left lay five SPD morphers, every color of A-squad – red, blue, green, yellow and pink – lined up in order.

He picked up the object on the right, a black containment card. Deep within the card, Isinia Cruger shook her fist at him and screamed, her voice silenced by her prison.

Gruumm looked down at the greatest love of his worst enemy and laughed. "The things I will take from you, Cruger. This is only the beginning."

* * *


	31. The Duel

"Where have you been? Me and Cindy have been waiting for ages." Mora crossed her arms and stuck her lower lip out in a pout. "Broodwing was supposed to tell you to meet me before your duel. That jerk must have forgot."

Bridge doubted that. The mercenary didn't seem like the type to forget anything, especially something concerning Mora and Bridge.

"Anyhow, I have your morpher," Mora continued. She handed it back to him and smoothed her black ribboned dress, looking particular pleased with herself. "All new and improved."

Bridge had never understood that saying. He studied the green morpher. The familiar SPD logo had been replaced the symbol of the Troobian Empire. He had always felt a strange connection to his morpher, but now the connection was stronger, almost thrumming with energy, as if he could touch the power of the morphing grid.

Mora looked up at him. "Are you ready?"

* * *

Bridge stared into the portal of the alter-verse for the second time. It was not pure black, as he had thought before. Instead, it swirled with dark colors, blues and purples and greens swept up into a dizzying vortex.

Bridge braced himself and stepped into the alter-verse. The space was much larger than it looked from the outside and as empty as a blank hologram. At the far end of the alter-verse, Invisor paced back and forth, occasionally twitching restlessly.

"We don't have to do this," Bridge said quietly. He didn't want to kill anyone, not even a monster. A sick feeling grew in his stomach. This was wrong. It went against everything he believed in.

Invisor nearly radiated scorn. "If you don't want to fight, you can die where you stand."

Outside of the alter-verse, a small crowd had gathered to watch their duel. Gruumm and Broodwing were there along with a several monsters, some that Bridge recognized and others that he didn't. The monsters were watching with predatory eyes full of anticipation.

Mora stood in front and waved at him. Then she cupped her hands over her mouth and shouted, her voice carrying through the portal. "Listen up! Anything goes, but only one of you is going to walk back through that portal. Good luck!"

The monster was invisible before she finished speaking. Bridge took a step back and drew his morpher.

"SPD Emergency!" The power of the morphing grid folded around him. He instinctively ducked to the side and felt the wind shift as the Invisor's razor-sharp claws sliced through the air.

"You'll have to do better than that, ranger," Invisor snarled. An armored elbow slammed into his helmet, throwing Bridge against the wall of the alter-verse. His fingers wrenched open in a painful spasm and the blaster flew from his grip, skittered across the floor and slid to a stop just out of his reach.

He didn't want to fight. But if he died here, right now, there would be no one left to protect the Earth. The other rangers wouldn't understand what was at stake.

He wanted to live.

He _needed_ to live.

Bridge rolled to the side an instant before Invisor struck, the monster's claws gouging deep lines in the white floor. Bridge's fingers brushed against his blaster and he fired a wild shot. There was a bright flash and a grunt of pain, and he saw a tiny, glittering patch where the invisibility flickered and failed.

Heavy footsteps rushed towards him and then a flash of pain lanced across his chest. The impact flipped him off his feet and Bridge landed in an unsteady crouch. Somersaulting forward, he drew his striker and thrust the point into the visible patch. Invisor's armor cracked with a sound like shattering glass.

Invisor lurched to the side, clutching the wound. Bridge watched, almost in slow motion, as the monster twisted around to attack again, scattering droplets of green blood on the floor. His blaster was in his hand before Invisor completed the turn. The monster let out a crazed, animalistic howl as the blast hit him on his wounded side. After the second blast, there was only a hollow silence.

His heart pounding in his chest, Bridge powered down and took a hesitant step towards the monster. Invisor lay crumpled and motionless on the ground. Bridge knew he was dead even without using his powers.

"That was fantastic!" Mora squealed, rushing into the alter-verse. She didn't spare the fallen monster a second glance. "I knew you could do it!"

Bridge leaned over and puked on his shoes. When he straightened, he was shaking violently. "He didn't have to die."

"Gross!" Mora moved a safe distance away from him. "Oh, don't be like that. He would have killed you. You did what you had to do."

Bridge forced himself to look at the monster he had killed, the monster who had fought and died for Mora's respect. As he stood there, overwhelmed by regret and shame, a horrible thought suddenly occurred to him.

"Mora – why did you choose me?" Bridge asked. The answer seemed desperately important. "You could have made any monster, brought any of the other rangers."

"I didn't want another monster or some other ranger," Mora said solemnly. "I wanted you. You're the green ranger. Not everyone knows it, but the morphing grid is weaker at some points than others. And the green ranger powers are the weakest of all. You're just not as important as the others. They don't need you."

Mora noticed his stricken look. "Oh, don't pretend you didn't know," she added, without a hint of remorse. "Some teams don't even have green rangers. Besides, you don't belong there. Not anymore. Not after what you've done. You belong here, with us."

* * *

  



	32. Two Promises

Bridge wondered how long it had been since he left SPD. It was hard to keep track of time on the Troobian ship. On Earth he had taken for granted the transition from day to night, but in space there were only stars and disorienting darkness.

A pair of krybots marched by, and Bridge gave them an envious look. He wished he was a krybot. It would be so easy to be a machine, to have no feelings and no regrets. Sometimes, he felt like none of this was real and it had all happened to someone else. Especially the duel. He tried not to think about the duel, because when he did, he got shaky and sweaty and remembered what Mora had told him.

Maybe he really did belong with the Troobians.

"Stop sulking and come here, ranger," Broodwing said. Mora stood a short distance behind the the bat, making insulting faces to the back of his head.

"What are you working on?" Bridge asked, torn between curiosity and apprehension. Broodwing and Mora had been spending far more time than usual together. Sometimes he would hear snippets of urgent, whispered conversation between the two, but never enough to piece together their plan.

"The upgrades to your suit, of course." Broodwing said. He stepped aside to reveal a shimmering hologram. "Or did you already forget that Gruumm made you steal the blueprints?"

"By now," Mora added, "the other rangers will already have their SWAT upgrades activated. It wouldn't be fair if you were the only one without it. And no, I couldn't have given it to you earlier. Gruumm wouldn't let me." She held out her hand. "Your morpher?"

Bridge gave her the morpher and fidgeted in silence as Broodwing modified it with the same efficiency and precision he had shown on the krybots. "Why is Gruumm letting you do this now?" he finally asked.

"Because it's time for you to keep your promise," Mora said, her eyes glittering with excitement. "We're going to Earth."

* * *

Cruger watched from the roof as the darkness of night began to fade. High above, the last visible stars blinked and blazed, among them the star of his home planet, the brightest in the sky. Newtech City was unnaturally quiet, as if every resident, human and alien, was holding their breath in anticipation.

His sharp ears heard the soft pad of footsteps behind him.

"How are they?" he asked.

"I know they'll do their best," Kat said simply.

The truth was that B-squad was broken, incomplete without Z and Bridge. He could promote other cadets to their places, but nothing would repair the trust and confidence the team had once shared. "If only A-squad..."

Kat sighed. "They would have returned, if they were able to." She put a comforting hand on his arm. "Doggie, we've done everything we can. We should see about getting a set of morphers for C-squad, but I doubt we'll have time."

She left and Cruger returned to pondering the sky. He thought about the Troobians, waiting in space. The sliver of the moon was momentarily blotted out by fast-moving clouds, scattering a few droplets of rain on the ground.

Far away on the horizon, there was a brilliant flash of light, followed by the orange and red glow of burning buildings. Above the city rose a giant robot, larger than any they had seen before, with a single, distinctive horn. The alarm sounded a heartbeat later and headquarters was instantly teeming with cadets. Many were blinking away sleep and adjusting their uniforms as they hurried to their posts.

Cruger strode to his private quarters and removed a narrow box from the shelf. Brushing away the layer of dust, he flipped open the clips. Inside lay the Patrol Morpher. He took it from the box and clipped it on his belt, alongside the Shadow Saber.

"I'm sorry, Isinia," Cruger said. "I have to break my promise."

* * *


	33. The Invasion

The Troobian teleporter deposited Bridge in a residential area a short distance from SPD headquarters. The warning sirens echoed through the abandoned streets and the windows of the houses were dark and empty. A forlorn-looking teddy bear lay abandoned on the sidewalk.

Bridge's heart twisted as he heard a faint rumble and felt the ground tremble beneath him. He turned away from the destruction of his home city and began to walk.

He evaded a jeep full of cadets and managed to slip onto the grounds of SPD without being noticed. There, with headquarters towering in front of him, surrounded by the smoke of burning buildings, he remembered his vision.

The red skies. The battle. The destroyed megazord and the defeated rangers.

And it had happened here, he was sure of it. This was the place. The green grass under his feet would curl and die, leaving behind barren, scorched earth. Soon, he would be surrounded by enemies who were once his best friends.

The rim of the sun rose over the horizon, staining the clouds a deep, fiery crimson. Bridge stopped and waited for them to come.

* * *

"We can't pilot the Delta Megazord with only three rangers," Cruger said. "I will go and fight Gruumm - only I can lure him out of that robot."

Sky and Jack looked unhappy, but both nodded dutifully.

"I have sent C- and D-squad to battle the krybots. The other cadets will guard the base. Help them if they need it, but your priority must be to find and confine Bridge." Years - decades - of preparation had led up to this battle. This time, nothing would stop him from bringing Gruumm to justice. The innocent people of countless destroyed worlds deserved nothing less.

"Bridge is already here," Kat said. She gestured at a bright green dot flashing on the holographic map. "Watch out for Mora and Broodwing as well. Headquarters is sending reinforcements, but they won't arrive immediately. If you can't confine them, try to hold them off until help arrives."

Cruger looked at each of his cadets in turn, committing every detail of this moment to memory. He saw fear, of course, but it was eclipsed by bravery and determination. He had never felt more proud.

"You are the best cadets I have ever trained," Cruger said. He raised his hand in a sharp salute, which Sky, Jack and Syd returned. "It is an honor to serve with you."

* * *

Boom propped himself up with a pillow and flipped on the light. Maybe it was the silence of the suburbs, or simply sleeping in an new place, but he felt a strange sense of danger and unease.

His bed was smaller and less comfortable than he remembered. Across the room, a shelf full of model zords stood ready for battle, just as he had left them. It had been years since he last lived here, in the upstairs bedroom of his parents' house. Looking at the colorful posters and carefully posed toys, Boom felt like he was ten years old again, dreaming of becoming a ranger and saving the world.

Boom sighed. Trying not to think about what he had left behind, he got up and began to unpack his clothes, laying them in an empty drawer. "I made the right choice," he told himself. "It was time to leave."

The glass pane on the window rattled, startling him. The toys closest to the edge wobbled and fell off their shelf. Boom rushed to the window and saw a giant robot towering over downtown Newtech. As he watched, two blinding beams flashed between the dark outlines of the buildings, leaving behind a trail of fire.

Boom backed away from the window and rushed downstairs. "Mom! Dad! You have to get to the shelter. The city is under attack!"

His disoriented parents shuffled out in their pajamas and he handed them their coats. After hurrying them out the door, Boom glanced between the trees and saw the robot turn towards SPD - and away from them - for now.

Boom looked back at his parents. "I'm sorry," he said. "I have to go."

His father blinked at him, uncomprehending. "What? You just got here. We have to get to the shelter."

"I thought I could leave it all behind, but I can't," Boom said. "Even after everything that's happened, they're still my friends, and they need me."

* * *


	34. The Challenge

Syd ran down to the entrance of the base, trailing a step behind the other rangers. She heard the garage doors open and watched as D-squad and their vehicles roared out of the basement towards the robot and the devastated part of the city.

Other cadets were battling what seemed to be an endless army of krybots. She watched as a huge translucent monster waded through the crowd, striking down cadets with purple stingers as it went. And, against her orders, against all logic, Syd hesitated.

"Our job is to defeat Bridge," Jack reminded her, noticing that she was lagging behind. "Nothing else matters. Besides, it could be a trap."

'But... there are people being hurt here, too,' Syd thought. She watched as a cadet stepped out to confront the monster. Even from a distance, it was clear who would win the battle.

"I'll catch up to you guys," she said. Syd charged towards the monster, who towered threateningly over the cadet. "SPD Emergency!"

* * *

Z woke all at once to bright lights and blaring alarms. On the bed next to her own, two doctors were working frantically on an injured cadet. She tore the IV lines and sensors from her arm and sat up. She forced herself to look away from the gruesome injuries of the cadet and got off the bed, wriggling her bare toes on the cold tile floors.

"Oh!" a tray clattered to the floor. A nurse stared at her, open-mouthed. "Cadet Delgado, you should be in bed!"

"I have to go," Z said with a calm authority that left the nurse speechless. "Where is my morpher?"

She looked down at the thin hospital gown. "And my clothes?"

* * *

Gruumm pulverized yet another building, watching from within the cockpit of his robot as the structure collapsed like it was made of sticks. People scurried away from him like ants, and Gruumm crushed one that came too close. He smirked and ground the unfortunate victim underfoot for extra effect.

Looking around for something else to destroy, Gruumm saw a tiny figure advancing steadily towards him down the street. Even from a distance, the challenger was unmistakable.

"Cruger!"

* * *

Jack stopped in his tracks, as if he had collided with a force field. He turned to Sky and stared at him with an intense but unreadable look.

Sky stared right back. "What?"

"If you can't handle this," Jack said, "you need to go back now and help Syd." There was a dangerous undertone to his voice.

"Of course I can handle it," Sky said, stunned. "What, do you think I'd just let him go? I have every intention of containing Bridge."

"That's not good enough!" the red ranger lowered his voice to a hiss. "He has to pay for what he's done."

Sky had a sudden moment of insight. "With what, his life?"

Jack said nothing. In some ways, that was even worse. Sky suddenly realized that he was scared: scared for himself, scared for his friends and now, more than a little scared of Jack.

"We're Space Patrol Delta. We don't kill, no matter what the crime. Do you really think that Z would've wanted this?"

"Z and I have known each other from long before we had ever heard of SPD, or their stupid rules," Jack said, after a very long and uncomfortable pause. "I would hope that she'd do the same for me."

* * *

"Why don't you pick on someone your own size?" Syd challenged, standing between the monster and its victim. The monster gave a burbling laugh before dashing away, leaving a trail of slime behind it.

"Hey! Get back here!" Syd shouted. She chased it past the track, to the middle of training grounds, now emptied of cadets. The monster slowed to a walk and then stopped.

Syd drew her blaster. "You're under arrest!"

The monster turned and halfheartedly charged towards her, waving its stingers in the the air. Syd had it contained within seconds. The aftermath of the explosion dissipated, leaving a single white card.

'That was too easy,' she realized, just as Mora stepped out from behind a post, clutching her sketchbook.

"Oh!" Mora giggled, scribbling furiously. "I get the pink ranger. Let's see how you like this!" she ripped out the page.

The only thing Syd could compare this new monster to was an alligator crossed with a bulldozer. A giant hand plucked her from the ground and hurtled her through the air. She hit the ground hard and all the air left her lungs with a whoosh. Syd staggered to her feet, blinking away dark spots as the monster rushed towards her with a roar.

"SWAT Mode!" she shouted and vaulted over its head. "Let's see how you like the Delta Enforcer!" The monster was too large and slow to duck. Instead, it was knocked forwards by the blast, toppling like a felled tree. "Judgment Mode!"

Mora heaved a long-suffered sigh as her monster was carded. "I really thought that one would work, too," the pictomancer said, finishing another drawing with a flourish.

The new monster was sleek and metallic, with wide blades in the place of hands. The monster streaked towards her, but an instant before it struck, it split into two identical copies. She hit one and it dissolved into gray smoke, but its twin slashed her from hip to shoulder.

Mora clapped her hands with glee. "Get her!"

The monster doubled itself again and attacked.

* * *


	35. The Megazord

Piggy paced from one end of his tiny cell to the other. He heard a rumble from high above, as the ceiling shook and a few specks of paint drifted down onto his head.

All the guards on his floor had either fled or left to join the battle. A lone cadet rushed by and Piggy grabbed the bars. "Hey, let me out! You can't just keep me here!"

The alien across the hall made clicking noises that sounded like an agreement.

"You're a criminal," the cadet said, raising his voice to be heard over the clamor of the other prisoners. "I'm not letting you out to join your friends outside, so stop asking. I don't even have the codes to get you out."

"No," Z said, appearing in front of his cell, "but I do."

"You're alive!" Piggy said. He heaved a sigh of relief that, even to his surprise, was mostly genuine. "Look, the Troobians are here. You have to let me go or... "

"I need to get onto the Troobian ship," she interrupted.

"What?" Piggy wasn't sure he heard her right. "Are you crazy? That's suicide!"

"They have a weapon that can destroy the Earth." Z met his eyes and Piggy was stunned by her determination. "That's how they convinced Bridge to help them. I have to destroy it before it's too late."

"Well," he stammered. "I – I have a teleporter that might work, but it's at my restaurant."

Z was punching in the door code before he finished speaking.

* * *

Syd reeled to the side, dizzy from exertion and pain. Every time she beat one half of the monster, the other would duplicate itself. The twin monsters slowly circled her, like sharks smelling blood.

A blade struck her across the back and Syd pitched forward, twisting as she fell. She dimly realized that she was no longer morphed and, with great effort, forced her eyes open.

Mora stood over the fallen ranger, her mouth twisted into a victorious smile. Syd's last conscious thought was that Jack had been right, and he was going to be terribly disappointed.

* * *

The streets leading to SPD were eerily empty. Boom sped through three red lights and drove his car up over the curb before coming to a screeching stop in front of headquarters.

He left his car and marched determinedly towards the command center. Two passing cadets gave him sidelong glances of distrust as they hurried to their posts, but neither tried to stop him.

Ahead in the hallway, Boom heard the scrape of an exterior door opening. A familiar alien with a dark cloak and a clear helmet entered the base, flanked by blue and orange-head krybots. Boom ducked behind a potted fern a moment before they turned to look in his direction.

He closed his eyes and tried to pretend he was invisible. His heart pounded in his ears. Boom held his breath as the footsteps began again, only to fade into the distance.

'That - that was Broodwing,' he realized with a thrill of fear. 'I have to warn Kat!' Boom peered between the leaves of the plant until he was sure the alien was gone. Then he scrambled to his feet and ran the rest of the way to the command center, looking over his shoulder for any sign of the Troobians.

A tall cadet moved to stop him as he entered the room. Kat turned and noticed him. "Boom? What are you doing here?"

"Broodwing's here!" Boom ducked away as the cadet made another grab for him. "I saw him! He - "

A loud siren cut him off.

"There are intruders in the megazord core," someone shouted, their voice shaking with fear. "And - I can't lock down the doors!"

Boom turned towards the speaker just as a tremendous explosion sliced through the wall.

* * *

  



	36. The Battle, pt 1

Time slowed until everything barely moved. Frozen in fear, Boom watched as deadly pieces of shrapnel and metal drifted through the air. In that moment, everything was bright and sharp, the only sound a high-pitched ringing in his ears.

His hearing returned all at once, like a thunderclap. First came the screaming. Cadets were fleeing in terror, some dragging injured friends. Boom ducked away from the chaos and curled up against the wall.

Broodwing and his krybots appeared from the gaping hole, smoke swirling around them. The bat smoothly stepped over a fallen cadet and walked towards a control panel. He entered a code with his long gray fingers.

"Commencing transformation to Delta Command Megazord," the computer announced.

Kat sprung forward, claws extended to strike Broodwing. The bat caught her hand mid-swing.

"The infamous Kat Manx," Broodwing said with a sneer. He backhanded her, knocking her to the floor. "You will have a front-row seat to the destruction of Newtech City."

* * *

Cruger looked down at his mortal enemy. He held the point of the Shadow Saber an inch away from the kneeling warlord's throat. "It's over, Gruumm."

Behind them there was a tremendous noise, the sound of metal on metal from a gigantic transformation. As they watched, the Delta Base transformed into a megazord, firing lasers into the city from its fingertips.

Gruumm rumbled with laughter. "This is far from over, Cruger." He leaned on his staff and straightened. "We can continue our battle - or you can save your precious rangers. Which one are you going to chose?"

Cruger hesitated for a moment and then sheathed his sword. He growled and backed away. Gruumm watched his retreat and chuckled.

* * *

Piggy's restaurant was in shambles. It took the combined strength of both him and Z to shove open the front door. Piggy picked his way across the floor and opened a locked cabinet. Dozens of illegal weapons tumbled out and he dug through the stash, trying not to look at the ranger who was watching his every move.

"Found it!" Piggy said. He picked up a device that looked like a deep sea jellyfish. Tiny iridescent hairs ran along the machine, flashing blue and pink lights. "It navigates by thought transference. You hold it with both hands and think very hard about where you want to go."

Z shivered as he handed her the slimy device.

"One stray thought and you'll wind up floating in space -or worse," Piggy warned. "It's not a risk I would take, but..."

"I have to do this. Thank you, Piggy." Z clasped her hands around the teleporter and closed her eyes. She visualized the inside of the Troobian ship, drawing from the images she had glimpsed in Bridge's memories.

Piggy watched as she dissolved into lines of energy and light. "Good luck, Z."

* * *

Sky and Jack watched in horror as the the Delta Command Megazord slowly transformed.

"We can't stop it," Sky said. "We have to find Bridge." The two rangers took one last look at the battle before turning away.

On a low hill nearby, Sky saw a shadowed outline of a figure, standing out against the dawn. He slowed to a walk, expecting an eruption of blaster fire with every step. The attack never came. Bridge waited, unmorphed, as they approached, his hands empty by his sides.

Sky heard a muffled sound beside him, something between a growl and a battle cry. He looked over and saw that Jack was shaking with fury. The red ranger charged forward before he could stop him.

* * *

Jack morphed in mid-stride and covered the distance in seconds. Bridge morphed just in time, bringing his arms up in a defensive cross. He swung at Jack, but Jack grabbed his arm and twisted, following up with a brutal kick that flung him off his feet.

"Get up!" Jack said, his voice heavy with contempt.

Bridge tackled him instead, and they went sprawling in the grass. Bridge lashed out with his fists and elbows. He somehow managed to wrestle his way on top, pinning Jack to the ground. As he raised his free hand to strike again, a laser blast caught his side. The impact flipped him into the air and Bridge landed in an ungraceful roll.

"Bridge Carson," Sky shouted. His voice shook, but he held the blaster steady. "You are charged with conspiracy, treason, violent assault and endangering the public at large!"

A red streak hurtled towards Bridge. Jack moved fast, faster than he had ever seen. A foot struck his chest. As he staggered backwards, Jack drew his own blaster and fired in one smooth motion.

At such close range, the blast was agonizing even when morphed. Bridge fell to one knee, taking deep, gasping breaths of air. He looked up at Jack. The red ranger kept the blaster aimed steadily at his head. The helmet hid his expression, but his intention was clear.

Bridge spoke softly. "Are you really going to kill me... Jack?"

* * *


	37. The Battle, pt 2

Bridge knew he was tempting fate, but he allowed himself to de-morph. He stared at Jack, challenging him to shoot. "Do it. It's what you want, isn't it?"

"Don't do it," Sky warned in a low, urgent voice. His blaster shifted away from Bridge and towards Jack.

Jack hesitated. The blaster wavered in his hand. "But he - he deserves it."

"Maybe, but this isn't how we handle things." Sky took a cautious step towards Jack. "You know this is wrong. Just put the blaster down."

He knew that Sky was right. But then he thought of Z. What Bridge had done to her was unforgivable. Jack's resolve returned and his finger tightened on the trigger.

Jack and Sky both fired at the same time. Bridge rolled to the side and covered his head as a blast barely missed him. The other shot struck Jack, and the weapon flew from his hand.

Bridge ripped off his glove and grabbed Jack by the ankle. Drawing power from within himself, he channeled electricity through his hand. Through the fleeting connection they shared, he felt Jack's heart flutter and skip a beat. The red ranger froze and crumpled, motionless, to the ground.

* * *

"You... Is he -?" Sky couldn't bring himself to say it. Because if Jack was dead, the war might be lost. Because if Jack was dead, it would be his fault.

Bridge got to his feet. He glanced over at the fallen ranger. "No. He's not dead."

Sky was silent for a moment, as he struggled to find the words. "Bridge - how could you? How could you do any of this?" He was aware once more of the battle, the rumble of explosions and the smell of fire. Lasers flashed high in the air above them. "We were friends!"

"Some things are more important than friendship," Bridge said. "Maybe you'll understand that one day."

As Sky looked at his former friend, a deep sense of anger and hurt rose up within him. Before today, he thought that he understood betrayal, but nothing could compare with this pain.

The cry was torn from his throat. "I don't _want_ to understand!"

* * *

Boom slid across the floor as the megazord shifted beneath him. From his position, he could see the backs of Broodwing and his krybots. The bat was intent on operating the megazord, firing lasers within the city.

Boom crawled over to an access panel. He shifted to slide his fingers underneath the metal plate, and yanked it off to reveal a tangle of wires and cables. He unplugged several wires with a single swipe, and then removed one of the larger cables and reversed it. As he struggled to maneuver the panel back into position, a krybot turned and noticed him.

Boom instinctively held the panel up in front of him like a shield. The laser blast struck it and ricocheted, leaving a circular scorch mark in the ceiling. Boom dropped the panel with a yelp as the residual heat scorched his hands. He froze as the krybot levelled its gun arm at him once more.

A grinding noise suddenly came from deep within the megazord. The krybot lost its balance and tumbled away from him as the floor shook.

"What the – !" Broodwing cursed as the controls stopped responding. His gaze fell on Boom. The bat grabbed him by the shirt and lifted him off his feet.

"What did you do?" he snarled, nearly incoherent with rage. He shook Boom roughly. "Fix it!"

Boom met the eyes of the furious alien. "Never."

Broodwing threw him hard against the wall, and Boom struck his head against the sharp edge of a control stand. He slid to the floor, stunned. Broodwing frantically worked the controls as the megazord veered to the right and began to topple with a groan.

The lights in the command center flickered. Everything went black for a moment. Kat slid across the floor and grabbed Boom, flattening them both against the wall. Boom heard a tremendous crack followed by the shattering of glass. He looked over and saw the open sky, shining through what had once been the glass eyes of the megazord.

Broodwing staggered upright. His dark cloak was torn and riddled with holes, and a crack snaked its way across the front his helmet. His feet crunched over broken glass as he took a step forward. "You will both pay for this!"

Boom felt Kat shift beside him, and the agile scientist got to her feet. She positioned herself protectively between him and the enraged bat. Broodwing sprung forward to attack.

A laser blast struck him in mid-stride and the mercenary collapsed in a heap. Sophie stepped out from the hole in the wall, clutching a blaster. "Get away from my friends," she said.

Broodwing lurched back to his feet, his eyes glinting with fury. He looked at Boom and Kat, and then back at Sophie. Then he hissed and flew away through the broken window, his tattered cape flapping behind him.

* * *

Sky and Bridge slowly circled each other, looking for an opening. Sky listened for the sound of spaceship engines. Where were the reinforcements that Cruger had promised? He never thought that it would come to this, that he would have to fight Bridge alone.

Bridge attacked first, and Sky had to summon a shield to avoid being touched by his bare hand. He remembered, all too well, what a single touch had done to Jack and Z.

"Don't do this, Bridge," Sky said.

"I have to." Bridge escalated the fight without warning. "SPD Emergency!" He hurtled his fist into the shield and his hand slowed before accelerating.

The shield dispersed with a snap. The next thing Sky knew, he was lying face-down on the ground. He gave a painful, rasping cough. He forced himself to stand, his ribs aching with every movement. He barely managed to raise his morpher. "SPD Emergency!"

The pain was faded to a faint ache once he was morphed. Sky ducked a kick and swept low. He quickly fell into the rhythm of the fight. He had fought this battle a thousand times before. He knew Bridge. He knew how he moved. He knew how he fought.

Above them, there was a blinding flash. A brilliant sphere of blue-white energy glowed brighter than the sun before dissolving into wisps of energy. Bridge looked up and hesitated, his hand halfway to his blaster. Sensing an opportunity, Sky darted forward.

"SPD S.W.A.T mode!" Bridge morphed again. He fired his Delta Enforcer.

The blast caught Sky mid-morph, at a vulnerable moment in his own transformation to S.W.A.T mode. The morph wavered and dissolved. Sky had just enough time to realize that he had fallen for the same trick twice before the main force of the blast struck him.

He felt himself falling, tumbling through the air. There was surprisingly little pain. The ground raced up to meet him before darkness came crashing down.

* * *


	38. The Darkest Hour

Bridge stared at the destruction around him. Black smoke streamed from the Delta Base Megazord, which lay where it had fallen, one side engulfed in flames. Jack and Sky were defeated, as he had seen in his vision.

But something had changed. There was no one at all where Syd, Z and Cruger should have been. And where the Troobians should have spoken to him there was only silence.

'This is all wrong,' Bridge suddenly realized. 'This isn't what I saw.' He felt a slight shift in the air behind him. He spun around and watched, his hand on his blaster, as iridescent streaks of light shivered and coalesced.

Z materialized from the beam. "Bridge, please stop," she said. "The weapon is destroyed. You don't have to do this anymore." Her eyes begged him to believe her.

Bridge paused, his heart racing. He knew she was telling the truth. Now, the explosion made sense. That must have been the Terror, disintegrating in space. The realization left him nauseous and guilt-ridden. Everything that he had done had been for nothing. If he had told his friends everything, from the beginning, they would have been able to stop the Troobians.

And now it might be too late.

"Z," Bridge said. "I..."

A hiss of laughter cut across the battlefield. Broodwing emerged from the haze. The bat drew two alien blasters from beneath his cloak. "Foolish ranger," Broodwing said with a sneer and fired.

Z staggered and Bridge caught her before she fell. He lowered her gently to the ground.

"Bridge... you... you have a choice," Z whispered. Bridge leaned in close to hear. He felt completely helpless, knowing that there was nothing he could do to save her. "You told me your secret - that changed everything. What you saw doesn't have to happen." Her eyes slowly fluttered shut.

Bridge straightened and faced the scheming mercenary. He was shaking with fury. "It's over Broodwing. I'm not going to let you hurt anyone else."

* * *

Broodwing leaped high into the air to avoid a blast from Bridge's Delta Enforcer. Bridge was forced to dodge and weave to avoid being hit as Broodwing returned fire.

Bridge stumbled as a blast struck his leg. Broodwing swooped down with a cackle. Bridge flattened himself against the grass and Broodwing passed over his head, missing him by inches.

The bat skidded to an awkward landing a short distance away. Light glinted off of his helmet, illuminating the crack in the glass. Bridge blocked when the bat swiped at him. He aimed a punch at the damaged helmet, and Broodwing was forced to bend backwards to avoid the blow.

Broodwing seemed to sense his peril. He retreated a step. "Do you really think you can defeat _me_?" he said, his voice laced with scorn. A tiny remote appeared in his hand. "After all, I gave you your powers. I can take them away." The mercenary activated a button.

Bridge swayed. His vision blurred. A strange feeling grew from deep within his chest and a tremble passed through his body. He looked down at his hands, and realized with a shock that he was no longer morphed.

"It's time to join your friends, ranger," Broodwing sneered. The bat curled his sharp fingers into a fist and hit Bridge with a vicious upper-cut before slamming him to the ground.

Then the beating began. He tried to block, to defend himself, but Broodwing was stronger and faster than he could ever be. Every time he tried to get to his feet, Broodwing stomped him back down.

An armored boot cracked into his ribs. He tasted blood. Why didn't Broodwing just shoot him and get it over with? Bridge realized that the bat was enjoying this - and wanted to be sure that he knew it, too. Cold fingers wrapped around his neck. Broodwing lifted him until they were at eye level.

"I have waited a long, long time for this," Broodwing said. The mercenary allowed himself a brief moment to savor his victory before raising his other hand to strike.

* * *

Bridge made one last, futile attempt to pull away as the deadly hand paused over his head, poised to strike. Hot shards of pain lanced cut through him and he stifled a moan.

Broodwing suddenly stiffened. His grip loosened. Bridge followed his gaze. Cruger strode towards them, his sword held high. He spared a glance at Bridge before focusing on the mercenary. "Broodwing!"

"Cruger," Broodwing hissed, and threw Bridge to the side like a rag doll. He spun and fired at the shadow ranger.

* * *

Cruger tilted the blade of his sword and deflected each beam in turn. A shot ricocheted back and struck Broodwing, knocking him off his feet. The bat righted himself with a snarl.

"It's over, Broodwing," Cruger said. "You can't win."

"Neither can you," Broodwing replied. He pitched a gleaming sphere with whirling red lights at his opponent.

Cruger dove forward as the bomb exploded with an ear-shattering bang, leaving a man-sized crater in the ground. Cruger hit the ground in a practiced roll and came up on his feet. Lifting his sword, he drove the hilt into Broodwing's helmet. The crack widened and a spiderweb of lines radiated outwards. Broodwing gasped for air as his glass helmet shattered.

Cruger drew his morpher. "Judgement -"

"I wouldn't do that," Broodwing managed. His voice was high and distorted. He took a wheezing breath and held up a black containment card. "The power released by your judgement mode might destroy this card. Are you really ready to sacrifice your own wife?"

Cruger hesitated. Broodwing wheezed with laughter and swiped a hand across his chestplate, activating a teleporter before Cruger realized his intentions.

Bridge aimed his blaster, his hand shaking. The laser blast hit Broodwing at the last possible moment. The bat fumbled mid-teleport and dropped the precious card. Cruger and Bridge watched breathlessly as the card spun on its edge and fell.

* * *

Cruger looked into the card, and a flood of emotions nearly overwhelmed him. There was disbelief, sorrow and joy. Disbelief that, against all odds, Isinia had survived. Sorrow for the decades they had lost and the suffering she had endured. But most of all there was joy. No matter what happened, no matter how the war ended, he knew they would be together.

Cruger heard a soft sound nearby as Bridge staggered to his feet. The shadow ranger tightened his grip on his sword. "You saved her. Why would you do that?"

"Nobody deserves what Broodwing had planned for her," Bridge said quietly. He raised his hands in a gesture of surrender. "Look, I know that things have gone really, terribly wrong, but I don't want to fight you."

"You're in no condition to fight anyone," Cruger countered. Bridge's lip was split, his face streaked with blood. The green ranger looked like he could barely stand. Cruger glanced at his fallen rangers. "And why should I trust you, after everything you've done?"

Bridge sighed. "Maybe it doesn't matter now, but I was trying to do the right thing. I'm not brainwashed or under a spell, and I never was. I know what I did and I'm ready to take responsibility for it."

Cruger regarded him evenly as he spoke, revealing nothing.

"If you want, you can contain me right now," Bridge added. "I know I deserve it and I won't stop you." He was almost relieved when Cruger drew his morpher.

Bridge braced himself to be judged.

* * *

The rumble of an engine interrupted them. Gruumm's motorcycle accelerated towards them and skidded to a stop, leaving deep gouges in the ground. Mora hopped off the back.

"Cruger!" Gruumm said. He climbed off his motorcycle. "I see you were too late to help your friends... again." He gave Bridge a dismissive look. "It seems like history is repeating itself."

"Give it up, Gruumm," Cruger retorted. "Your ship is destroyed. You have nowhere to go."

"I no longer need the ship," Gruumm replied. He gestured at the battle-torn city. "This planet is rich in resources. It will be the new Troobian home-world, the center of my galactic empire. All of these pitiful humans will make perfect slaves."

"Not as long as I'm here," Cruger said. He lifted the Shadow Saber and locked gazes with his arch-nemesis, his eyes burning like the fires of Sirius.

* * *

"It's over, Mora," Bridge said. Mora paused, her pencil poised over the page. "I should never have helped you."

Mora seemed genuinely hurt. Her eyes swam with tears. "But I thought we were friends!"

"You don't know what a friend is," Bridge said.

Mora gave a scream of fury and tore out pages in quick succession. Two monsters attacked from either side and Bridge ducked. They struck each other and collapsed, flapping their fins and paws helplessly.

A thick, writhing vine struck him from behind as another encircled his leg. Bridge lost his footing and scrabbled against the ground as the monster dragged him closer. A third vine snaked its way around his neck and the plant monster began to throttle him.

He dug his fingers under the vine and pulled with all his strength. Tiny razor-sharp spines cut into his hand, and the vine barely moved before tightening. The darkness gripped him as his struggles grew weaker.

"That's enough," Mora said, without looking up from her sketchbook. The monster loosened its grip and Bridge gasped for air. Vines encircled his hands, pinning them to his side. "I want him to watch."

* * *

Wave after wave of monsters attacked Cruger, grabbing at his arms and sword with no regard for their own safety. These monsters were blocky and hastily drawn, but what they lacked in finesse they made up in brute strength.

As Bridge watched, one wrapped a chain around the Shadow Saber. Cruger tugged and pulled, trapped in a deadly tug-of war. By the time he recovered the weapon, Gruumm had disappeared into the crowd.

"Gruumm!" Cruger shouted. "Face me!"

"I'm right here, commander," Gruumm mocked from behind him. A blast incinerated two unfortunate monsters before striking Cruger. Gruumm swung his staff and the broad side of the weapon hit the the shadow ranger with a resounding crack.

"Doesn't this bring back old memories, Cruger?" Gruumm said. As Cruger staggered, Gruumm lowered the staff until it was pointed at his heart. Cruger raised his sword a moment too late.

* * *

"No!" Bridge cried. He struggled to free himself, to help Cruger, but the monster only tightened its grip. Gruumm smirked and turned his attention to Bridge.

"You - you won't get away with this," Bridge said fiercely.

Gruumm rumbled with laughter. "Who will stop me. You? Your friends?" he jabbed at Cruger with the point of his staff. The defeated ranger groaned faintly. "Anubis "Doggie" Cruger?"

Mora shook her head apologetically. "This is all your fault, you know. I'd really hoped that it wouldn't have to end this way. If you had just gone along with the plan, I might've been able to talk Gruumm into letting you live."

Gruumm met his eyes. Bridge looked into the red depths and saw pure, remorseless evil.

"Thank you for your help, green ranger," Gruumm said. "I could never have done it without you. And now, it's time to die."

* * *


	39. The Last Ranger

Gruumm gestured at the monster and Bridge's restraints slithered away. "Give it your best, ranger," the warlord taunted.

He knew it was hopeless. But he wasn't going to go down without a fight. Bridge drew his striker and lunged at Gruumm. Gruumm swung his staff and it struck with a sickening crack.

Bridge dropped the striker. He clutched his arm. His knees wobbled and collapsed out from under him. 'Have to get up. Have to… fight,' he thought grimly. He struggled to his feet and attacked again with his uninjured arm.

Gruumm looked bored. He easily side-stepped the punch and lowered his staff. The orb flashed red. The blast hit Bridge between his shoulder blades, throwing him to the ground in a heap.

"At last!" Gruumm shouted, triumphant. "The earth is mine!"

* * *

Something called him. Not a voice, but a powerful feeling, a sense of urgency.

His eyes fluttered open. Bridge wrapped his fingers around his morpher and raised it until it was eye level. It was glowing with green light, beating in time with his heart.

He felt the connection he shared with the morphing grid like it was a tangible thing. He suddenly understood that he had been born to fight this battle. Whether by freak accident or fate, the lab accident that gave him his powers had linked him to the morphing grid and to his teammates.

'I have to save them.' The thought became a mantra. 'I have to help my friends. I can't let Gruumm win.' He relinquished his power freely, channeling it back through the morphing grid. The morphers of the other rangers began to glow faintly.

He heard Mora's panicked voice, as if from far away. "What is he doing?" Someone - he thought it might have been her - reached towards him. There was a flash of green light and they withdrew with a cry of pain.

The energy left him like water, flowing away like an outgoing tide. Light enveloped the other rangers, flickering around them. He poured everything he could into the connection, every ounce of power, every breath.

* * *

Darkness faded into hazy, blurry light. Syd was engulfed by a strange warmth and a sense of safety. Driven by a power that rose from deep within, Syd opened her eyes and pushed herself upright.

* * *

Z put her hands to her stomach. Where Broodwing had shot her, the wound was completely healed. She smiled. The future had changed.

"Thank you, Bridge," Z whispered.

* * *

"What happened?" Jack said. He stared curiously at his morpher, now glowing an intense red.

"I don't know," Sky admitted. "But - I feel like they need our help."

* * *

Cruger leaned on his sword and straightened. He offered Bridge a helping hand. One by one, the other rangers came to stand beside them. Bridge steadied himself and faced the stunned Troobians.

"We're going to stop you, Gruumm," Bridge said. "Right here, right now." He looked over to his friends, together again like they were always meant to be. "Ready!"

They answered as one. "Ready!"

"SPD Emergency!"

* * *


	40. A Friend in Deed

Gruumm glowered at the six morphed rangers. His victory had been so close, only to be snatched away. His seething gaze lingered on one ranger in particular.

Cruger. This was all his doing. That meddling, manipulative old dog had beaten the odds once more.

"I beat you twice, Cruger," Gruumm said, his voice tight with anger, "and I'm going to do it again." His staff began to glow. Syd and Z cartwheeled out of the way as a searing bolt of energy hurtled towards them.

"Let's kick this up a notch," Jack said. The rest of the team nodded in agreement. "S.W.A.T Mode!"

Mora peeked out from behind Gruumm. As she watched the rangers morph, a look of pure terror flashed across her face. Mora turned on her heels and scurried away.

"Get back here, you worthless coward!" Gruumm thundered.

Mora ran a little faster.

The rangers drew their Delta Enforcers. "Fire!" The double beams combined into one and struck Gruumm. Gruumm flailed and disappeared into the blinding light of the explosion.

* * *

Gruumm rose slowly. He picked up his staff from the ground. The bones on his armor were blackened from heat.

"You won't win this time," Cruger said. "We're here to bring you to justice."

"Never!" Gruumm charged forward and swung at Cruger. The shadow ranger angled out of the way and flicked his sword forward. The blade bit deep into Gruumm's armor. As the warlord roared in pain, Cruger swept around in a wide arc and sliced off his other horn.

Gruumm stumbled back a step and clutched the stump. Fury and disbelief pulsed through him as he stared at his severed horn. The warlord was consumed by rage.

"This isn't over!" Gruumm said. He activated a beacon on his wrist. The ground shook. His giant robot stomped over to the battlefield, snapping trees and crushing buildings beneath its feet. Gruumm jumped into the robot before they could stop him.

* * *

"Rangers? Can you hear me?" Kat spoke through their morphers. Her voice was interspersed with static. "I'm sending the S.W.A.T. fliers."

The fliers cut across the sky, leaving vapor trails behind them. The rangers jumped into their vehicles and began the transformation. "Ready! S.W.A.T Megazord!" The wings extended and the megazord twirled an aerobatic loop before landing.

* * *

As his flyer split into two to become the legs of the megazord, Bridge suddenly realized that he felt strange. Only a moment ago, he had been close to death and now he felt... nothing. Nothing at all. That was scary. There was no pain, not even discomfort. Even when morphed, he should have felt something.

Bridge tried to put it out of his mind. He took his place beside Syd and focused on piloting the megazord. Gruumm's robot took a lumbering stride towards them.

A huge arm swung out. The S.W.A.T megazord was thrown into a towering high-rise. The building crumpled around them. Gruumm reached down and picked them up by the wings. He lifted the megazord and threw it down the street. The megazord slid several blocks before skidding to a stop, leaving a wide swathe of torn asphalt and twisted metal in its path.

The rangers piloted the megazord back upright. The robot walked towards them menacingly. The eyes flashed and two laser beams streaked towards them.

"Now!" Jack said. The timing was essential. An instant too soon or an instant too late, and the beams would strike them. The megazord spun into a kick and the beams were deflected into the atmosphere.

"It's our turn," Bridge said. The megazord drew its twin blasters. "Fire!"

Gruumm grunted as his robot shook under the barrage of laser fire. A metal plate came loose from the ceiling of his control room and clattered to the floor. Wrenching the controls, he raised the arm of the robot and hurtled a powerful but slow punch at the megazord.

Syd and Z activated the boosters. The S.W.A.T megazord flipped over the head of the robot. They fired again, pelting the robot with laser blasts. Sparks flew and when the smoke cleared, they saw a large hole in the back of the robot. Severed wires dangled from the damaged internals and pipelines spewed dark, viscous liquid.

"Let's finish this," Jack said. "Blaster Mode!"

The S.W.A.T. megazord transformed one final time into a cannon. The megazord shook as it discharged the two massive energy blasts. The resulting shock-wave levelled the nearest buildings. Gruumm's robot shattered into pieces.

Gruumm was thrown out of his robot and dumped unceremoniously on the ground. He ducked as the remaining pieces of his once-great robot rained down on him.

"No!" Gruumm snarled, staring up at the S.W.A.T. megazord. "It's not possible!"

* * *

Cruger heard the scream of jets as the fliers returned to the garage. The rangers lined up alongside him.

"He's all yours, Commander," Jack said.

Cruger nodded, more grateful than he could ever say. He drew his morpher. "Judgement Mode!"

Gruumm ranted and raged like a wild thing as Cruger read his long list of crimes. The morpher barely touched on green before deciding the outcome. "Guilty!"

Cruger lifted his sword. "I wanted you to know, Gruumm, that Isinia and I will be happy together," Cruger said finally.

"Isinia is dead," Gruumm spat. "No one could have escaped the Terror."

"No. She's free, and you'll never hurt her again."

The look of shock that Gruumm gave him was its own reward. Cruger raised the Shadow Saber and lightning glinted off the blade. He sprinted forward. Gruumm lifted his staff to block but the Shadow Saber sliced it clean in two before striking Gruumm.

Gruumm screamed. A blue light came from within, consuming him as he fell. Cruger sheathed his sword as the final explosion confined Gruumm, the most feared criminal in the galaxy, to his fate.

Cruger picked up the containment card. "You're going to prison, where you belong." Gruumm pounded his fists against his card and vowed a revenge against Cruger that he could never keep and no one would ever hear.

* * *

"Look!" Z said and pointed, "there's Mora!"

Mora spotted them at the same moment. She darted from her hiding place. Bridge looked to Cruger for permission and the commander nodded.

Bridge sprinted after her. As he ran, he swiped and loaded a card in his Delta Enforcer. Mora hastily drew a monster. She threw the page behind her and continued running. Bridge contained it without breaking his stride.

Mora looked over her shoulder. Bridge was gaining on her. Her foot snagged on a tree root and she tripped and fell hard. Her sketchbook flew out of her hands and tumbled out of reach.

Mora looked up at him. Her lower lip trembled. "Don't, please! I was just playing."

Against his better judgement, Bridge allowed himself to feel a little sorry for her. "This isn't a game, Mora," Bridge said firmly, "and it never was."

He drew his morpher from his vest. The indicator flashed. "Guilty!"

"No!" Mora dissolved into tears when she saw the containment card. "I - I don't wanna grow up!" Her final wail was cut off by the explosion.

* * *

"We actually did it," Sky marvelled. Bridge could barely believe it himself. It seemed impossible, but they had won.

Jack lifted Z in a bear hug. "You're okay! What happened?"

"I just, I don't know, woke up," Z said, dashing away tears of relief. "And then I destroyed the ship. But it was all thanks to Bridge, really."

They all turned to look at him. Bridge stood a short distance apart from the group, painfully aware that he no longer belonged. "Power down. Everyone, I'm really..."

As he de-morphed, a terrible pain blossomed in his heart and spread outwards. His vision went grey around the edges and his head spun. He blacked out for a moment as the pain dissolved into a dark, cold haze.

"What's wrong with him?" He heard a voice say, rising in panic. _Syd_.

Five concerned faces crowded over him. With his injuries, he had known that de-morphing would hurt. But this was a hundred, a thousand times worse than he imagined.

"He gave us his powers, his life-force so we could defeat Gruumm," Cruger said. Bridge recognized that grim, serious tone. "He must have given too much."

"He's _dying_?"

Dying. Somehow giving it a name made it more real. Bridge tried to speak but only managed a whisper.

"Sky..."

* * *


	41. A Friend in Need

"Hang on, Bridge. Help is on the way," Sky said.

Bridge gave a tiny shake of his head. Help would come, but they both knew it would be too little, too late.

He focused on Sky. Sky was trying his best to remain calm and collected, but Bridge saw the unguarded moment when his mask slipped, revealing a storm of emotions. He realized that Sky was afraid - terrified, even - and his pain-fogged mind couldn't understand why.

"Sky," Bridge said softly. "It's okay." Maybe it was even right. There was a kind of awful symmetry to it all. The work of fate or perhaps cosmic justice.

Sky shook him. "How can you say that? How can you just give up like this?"

It was like fighting the ocean, Bridge wanted to explain. He was sinking, drowning. He was so tired and his body felt so heavy. Each breath took indescribable effort.

He was running out of time. The darkness was closing in on him and this time, he knew it would consume him. There was so much he wanted to say, so much he wanted to tell him. Instead, he settled for the words that couldn't wait, the ones that mattered the most.

"I... I'm sorry. Please..." The apology came out broken, shattered. "Please forgive me. I... I was wrong." And then he was falling, plummeting into an endless abyss. Bridge shuddered and went still.

* * *

Sky knelt beside his oldest friend, furious at Bridge, Gruumm, life, the universe in general. This couldn't be happening. Not after everything they'd done, after everything they'd been through. Not after Bridge had sacrificed himself to save them.

"You can't die," Sky said, his voice choked with emotion. "Not like this."

Mirloc had stolen his father from him. And now Gruumm, even in defeat, had managed to reach out and snatch away his best friend. And the worst thing was that Bridge had died believing that Sky hated him.

Bridge had died without ever knowing how much he cared.

His first aid training snapped in. Sky positioned his hands over Bridge's heart and began compressions. One and two and three and four and... "Damn it, Bridge!"

Tears were streaming down his face. Sky hadn't cried since he was nine years old. Strong hands tried to pull him away. He shook them off and threw up a shield, encircling both Bridge and himself within a wall of blue energy.

Energy.

Somehow, he knew, that was the key. His powers drew energy from the morphing grid, the same energy that Bridge had used to revive him. In that moment he had felt - but not fully understood - the connection between them. He reached for Bridge's bare, cold hand and clasped it to his chest.

"You won't die," Sky said. It was half a prayer, half a demand. "I won't let you." He closed his eyes and concentrated, drawing energy from deep within himself. Instead of projecting it outwards into a shield, he focused it inwards, to the tenuous thread of power that linked them together.

At first there was nothing. And then the connection _caught_ , falling into place like the final piece of a puzzle. A tiny trickle of energy gradually turned into a river.

He felt both stronger and weaker, all at once. He had never in his life felt such a powerful sense of belonging and acceptance. Was this what Bridge felt, when he gave his energy in that desperate, hopeless moment?

All of his senses were amplified. He heard the other rangers shouting at him, begging him to stop. It was too much, he knew, and if he hung on much longer they would both die. He heard his heart pounding, staggered drumbeats that rung in his ears. And suddenly, there was another beat, faint but present, drumming in time with his own.

Bridge stirred and arched into a deep, gasping breath of air. Sky felt like he had been plunged into icy water as the connection broke.

'Everything's going to be okay,' he realized with absolute certainty. Sky allowed himself to slip into unconsciousness among the sounds of shouting and sirens and, above it all, the roar of spacecraft engines.

Reinforcements had finally arrived.

* * *


	42. Epilogue

Bridge was floating in a sea of darkness. There was nothing above or below him except for black, unending, infinite space. He felt strangely calm, at peace with himself and the world.

'Am I dead?' he wondered. He didn't feel dead. But he'd never been dead before, so it was hard to tell.

A tiny blue light spun and flickered above him. As he reached for it, the light brightened, consuming the darkness in a blinding flash. He looked away but the light remained, burning hot and bright behind his eyes.

An irresistible force tugged at him. He snapped back into his own body with a gasp. He felt the soft fabric of a blanket beneath his fingers and heard the steady beep of a heart monitor.

There were footsteps nearby and he pried his eyes open. Two doctors in white coats stood beside his bed, talking to each other in low voices. One of them noticed he was awake and bent in closer.

"Where am I?" Bridge tried to ask. It came out more like a croak, but they seemed to understand.

"You're in SPD headquarters," one replied. He squinted at her, trying to make out her features. All he could see was a halo of brown hair. "You've been asleep for four days."

"Oh." His thoughts were slow and fuzzy, like they were moving through molasses. His mouth was dry from thirst. "Water, please..."

The doctor handed him a glass and stared at him while he drank. Her colleague left the room and the door locked behind him with a conspicuous click. This was a jail cell, then, of some kind. Or a holding room in the infirmary, at least.

The door opened and Kat walked briskly into the room. "Hello, Bridge. How are you feeling?"

"Better," Bridge said. He tried to remember the battle, but everything was blurry and faint. "How... ? I thought... I thought I was dying."

"You were," Kat replied. "You were too badly injured and had given too much of your own energy back to the morphing grid." Her voice softened.

"But Sky... Sky risked his life to save you. It turns out that your powers connect you, not only to the morphing grid, but to each other. He gave you his energy to keep you alive."

"Is he okay?" Bridge asked anxiously.

Kat nodded. "Yes. Although, Sky has been receiving mild empathic impressions from people. Who knows? You might be able to create a weak shield, if you tried. Fortunately, the effect seems to be temporary."

Bridge breathed a sigh of relief. It had taken him years of hard work and suffering to control his powers. He wouldn't wish that on anyone. Well, maybe Broodwing. A little more empathy might do the bat some good.

"It's also thanks to Sky - and Z - that you're not in a containment card," Kat added, with a stern look. "When you're feeling up for it, I think we'd all like to hear the whole story, from the beginning."

* * *

And so he told them everything. He thought it would be difficult, but after keeping so many secrets for so long, it was almost a relief.

He told them about the super-weapon, and the terrible bargain he made with the Troobians.

About Mora and Invisor, and the duel he had fought in the alter-verse.

About his powers and visions, and the upgrade.

About stealing the files from Kat's lab.

He told them about Broodwing, and the bat's sinister plots.

And finally, about the last battle, ending with the moment he transferred his powers through the morphing grid, in the hope that someone, anyone, would help.

"I don't really remember much after that," Bridge said. He remembered, but only distantly, defeating Gruumm and confining Mora. He remembered the light.

There was a long silence when he finished his story.

"Why didn't you tell us?" Syd asked at last, hurt by his lack of trust. "We would have helped you."

Bridge hung his head. "I couldn't."

The silence stretched on.

"Bridge," Cruger said. Bridge reluctantly met his eyes. "I don't agree with some of the choices that you made. But I believe that everything that you did, you did to save the Earth. That counts for a great deal. Under the circumstance, I plan to recommend to the Supreme Commander that you receive community service instead of containment."

Bridge shook his head. "I broke the law. A lot of people got hurt because of me, and I don't think they'll be able to forgive me... or that I'll be able to forgive myself. I should be carded."

"And then what?" Cruger countered. "You won't be able to help anyone from prison. I think that the people of Newtech City deserve better than that."

"We all make mistakes," Kat said, "but running away won't help anything. Stay, Bridge, and help us rebuild. The city needs you. We need you."

If Cruger and Kat wanted him to stay, then he would stay. He owed them both more than he could ever repay.

"Okay. I'll do my best," Bridge vowed and stifled a yawn. As if on cue, the doctor returned and shooed the other rangers out of the room. Sky trailed behind the others, like there was something he needed to say, before changing his mind and leaving as well.

Bridge felt a pang of regret. He wished Sky had stayed, because there were so many questions, so many things left unsaid between them. At least now, he would have another chance to make things right. Bridge turned on his side and managed to drift off into a fitful sleep.

* * *

Z was his first visitor the next morning. "Hey. How are you feeling?"

"Okay," Bridge said and hesitated. "Z, I'm really sorry about what happened." But the apology seemed painfully inadequate.

"It's okay," Z said. She sat on the edge of the bed. "When we fought, I was so angry. I just couldn't believe that you had turned evil, that you had betrayed us. Then you touched me and I knew... I knew everything." She paused for a moment, lost in the memory. "I understand why you had to do it, and I forgive you."

"But what if you hadn't woken up?" Bridge said. He didn't want her to forgive him. He wanted her to scream at him, to punish him for all the crimes he had committed. "I could have killed you!"

"But you didn't," Z pointed out. "And in the end, you saved my life, and everyone else's too. That's what's important. So get well soon, because I want to see you back on the team. It isn't the same without you."

"I will." He managed a weak smile. "Thanks."

* * *

He could barely understand Syd during her visit. She hovered next to his bed for a moment before bursting into tears.

"I thought I was dead... and you hated all of us... and ... and..." Syd sniffled. "Don't _ever_ do that again!" She punched his good shoulder hard.

"Ow!" Bridge said. "I won't!"

Syd blinked away the last of her tears and enfolded him in a hug, careful to avoid his injuries.

* * *

"Hello, Boom," Bridge said softly.

Boom looked vulnerable and scared. He hovered near the door, keeping a wide distance between them.

"Honestly, I don't know how I feel about all of this," Boom said. He scuffed his shoes on the tiles. "You used me. I lost everything, my job, my friends. The Supreme Commander almost put me on trial, you know. I keep telling myself that it wasn't personal, but... it still hurts."

"I never meant to hurt you," Bridge said. Cruger was right. Confinement would have been easier, far easier than facing the people who he had hurt. "I'm sorry."

"I know. I'm just - I'm not sure that I can be friends with you anymore." Boom fidgeted some more before glancing at Bridge. "But - I'd like to work on it. Maybe we can take it slowly, one step at a time. Please?"

"Boom, it's okay," Bridge said, wanting to reassure him. "I understand. I hope we can be friends again, one day."

Boom relaxed a tiny bit. "I hope so, too."

* * *

The lights had dimmed in an approximation of nighttime when the door clicked open again. The figured who entered was tall and dignified. Bridge had never met her - he had barely even seen her - but he recognized her instantly.

"My name is Isinia. Isinia Cruger." Isinia folded her hands in her robes. "I wanted to thank you for saving me from Broodwing."

"You don't have to thank me," Bridge said. "It was nothing." If anyone deserved to be happy, it was Cruger and Isinia.

"No, it wasn't. Doggie told me everything. We Sirians have very long memories, and I won't forget what you did for me." Isinia graced him with a slight smile and padded from the room.

* * *

They released Bridge from the infirmary the next day. He still felt stiff and sore, and the doctor assured him he would feel that way for a while. His ribs ached and his arm was strapped tightly in a split.

He asked when he would be put back on active duty. The doctor looked affronted.

"Modern medicine can only help so much, you know," she said with a long-suffering sniff. "You still have to finish healing naturally. Not even the morphing grid can change that." She then read off a long list of things he was _not_ to do, on threat of being confined indefinitely to the hospital room.

He thanked her and hobbled away as fast as he could. The first thing he did was to look for Jack. He found the red ranger sitting in front of a glass wall, partially concealed by plants.

"Z told me that I might find you here," Bridge said. He sat next to Jack on the edge of the bench. The red ranger gave him a stiff nod of acknowledgement.

"Cruger told me that he wants you back on the team," Jack said. "But he left the final decision up to me." A muscle twitched in his jaw. "I won't lie to you, Bridge. I've been avoiding you."

"I know. And I realize that this probably doesn't mean much to you now, but for what it's worth, I'm sorry," Bridge said. The others rangers had tried to confine him, but Jack had truly wanted to kill him. Emotions that intense were slow to fade.

Bridge looked out over the city. He could see the damage from the battle, but also a bustle of activity in the places that were already being rebuilt. "I wish there was something I could do to take it back, but there isn't. So I just have to go on, and do what I can to fix things."

"I know," Jack said. He studied Bridge through dark, burdened eyes. "I just don't know if I can forgive you, or ever learn to trust you again."

The words hung between them for a long, tense moment. Jack sighed and spoke again. "But, for all of our sakes, I will try. Welcome back, Bridge."

* * *

The details of the battle were not official knowledge. But rumors flew faster than light at the Academy and within a day everyone knew - or thought they knew - exactly what had happened. A group of cadets shot him furtive glances and whispered as he passed.

"Did he really save the rangers?"

"Can you believe that the commander pardoned him?"

"Well, I heard that he died and was brought back to life by, like, some crazy morphing grid magic."

"He should be in prison." That one echoed. He heard it everywhere he went. "It's not right."

A few audacious cadets followed him right up to his dorm room. Bridge turned and stared at them, and the culprits tried to look uninterested before slinking away.

He knocked and opened the door. His side of the room was just the way he had left it. Bridge tried to hide his surprise. He had expected it to be empty.

"I guess, on some level, I hoped that you would come back," Sky said, answering his unspoken question. He put down the datapad he was studying. "I heard that Jack let you back on the team."

"He did. Sky..."

"You don't have to apologize," Sky said. "I know how you feel. I mean - we were connected. I think we still are, a little bit. Kat says it's because we saved each other."

"I don't understand," Bridge said. "Why did you save me? I betrayed SPD. I betrayed you."

"I know. I wanted to hate you, I really did." Sky bit his lip and struggled to find the words. "But..."

Bridge caught a wisp of feeling. "But... you care about me."

Sky looked very uncomfortable. "Well, yes. And I guess I just realized that everyone deserves a second chance."

"It's not official, yet. Me being back on the team, I mean," Bridge said. "There are lots of other things I can do at SPD. If you don't want me to come back, I understand."

Sky was quiet for a long time. Long enough that Bridge began to wonder if he should be looking for a position in science or maybe on the city clean-up crew.

"No, I want you back on the team," Sky said abruptly, startling him.

He would have to get used to that. Sensing the emotions of others came second nature to him, but it was strange being read by someone else.

"I just wish..." Sky trailed off. "I just wish things were like they were before. You've changed. Maybe we both have. Just promise me one thing, okay? No more secrets?"

"No more secrets," Bridge promised.

Sky nodded. The hard knot of pain that he held within his heart began to loosen. "I'm sorry." The words tumbled out. "I'm sorry that I didn't do something sooner. I'm sorry that I wasn't able to help you." _I'm sorry that I failed you._

Bridge was stunned. Why was Sky was apologizing to him? "Sky, it wasn't your fault. The Troobians..."

"... would have destroyed the Earth. I know. And if they had chosen me, I might have done the same thing." Then Sky spoke so quietly, Bridge almost missed it. "Are we still friends?"

"Of course," Bridge said with a warm smile. He was relieved when Sky smiled tentatively back. This was what mattered. This moment, this connection. They were friends, and he suddenly knew that they always would be.

* * *

~ The End ~

* * *


End file.
